E)L3LK(B)'inr8B.B.ILILin). 


SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 


A  HISTORY 


OF  THE 


M.  E.  CHURCH  IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST, 

FROM    1844  TO    1864. 


COMPRISING  THE   MARTYRDOM   OF  BEWLEY  AND  OTHERS;    PER- 
SECUTIONS OF  THE  M.   E.   CHURCH,   AND  ITS 
REORGANIZATION,   ETC. 


BY  REV.  CHARLES  ELLIOTT,  D.  D.,  LL.  D., 

AUTHOR  OF  "DELINEATIONS  OF  ROMANISM,"  "SINFULNESS  OF  AMERICAN  SLAVERY, 
"  THE  BIBLE  AND  SLAVERY,"  "  THE  GREAT  SECESSION,"  ETC. 


EDITED  AND  REVISED  BY 

REV.  LEROY  M.  VERNON,  A.  M. 

Of  the  Missouri  and  Arkanaat  Conference. 


CINCINNATI: 
PUBLISHED  BY  POE   &   HITCHCOCK, 

FOR  THE  EDITOR. 


R.   P.   THOMPSON,   PRINTER. 
1868. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1868, 
BY  LEROY  M.  VERNON, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for 
the  Eastern  District  of  Missouri. 


u.  c. 

ACADEMY    OF 

PACIFIC   COAST 
HISTORY 


PEERAGE. 


THIS  volume  professes  to  be  a  brief  history  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Missouri,  and  the  parts 
beyond,  but  especially  of  Missouri,  from  the  time  of  the 
great  secession  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  1844-45,  to  the  beginning  of  the  year  1865.  From 
this  narrative  of  facts  and  events  it  will  be  seen  that 
to  be  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
these  regions,  during  the  period  above  specified,  was 
the  greatest  crime  known  by  the  pro-slavery  men  of 
the  South-West,  as  membership  in  that  Church  was 
synonymous  with  negro  thief,  incendiary,  insurrectionist, 
and  the  like. 

Most  of  the  information  here  presented  was  collected 
by  the  writer  from  May,  1860,  to  May,  1864,  while  he 
was  editor  of  the  Central  Christian  Advocate.  A  few 
of  the  preachers  of  our  Church  in  Missouri  wrote  to 
us  accounts  of  the  persecutions  they  endured.  But 
most  of  them  did  not.  Yet  we  culled  from  their  occa- 
sional communications  much  of  the  matter  of  this  his- 
tory. My  duties  as  editor  prevented  me  from  furnish- 
ing the  volume  before  this  time.  It  is  now  presented 
to  the  public  as  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  in  the  South-West. 

CHARLES    ELLIOTT. 
IOWA  WESLEYAN  UNIVERSITY,  ) 
April  i,  1865.  ) 


EDITOE'S  PEEFAOE. 


THIS  volume  was  prepared  while  the  author  was 
editing,  without  assistance,  the  Central  Christian  Advo- 
cate at  the  close  of  a  long  and  laborious  public  and 
literary  career,  with  the  infirmities  of  age  pressing 
heavily  upon  him.  Otherwise  "  edited  and  revised, 
etc.,"  on  the  title-page  would  be  unmeaning  or  absurd. 
As  it  is,  the  editor  has  not  been  without  something 
to  do. 

The  manuscript  has  been  handled  reverently  and  with 
indisposition  to  make  changes,  however  trivial,  although 
the  partial  confidence  of  the  author  gave  liberty  "to 
abridge,  amend,  or  alter,  as  seemed  best,  provided  only 
his  sentiments  be  maintained."  Abridgment  seemed 
impracticable.  The  changes  made  are  such  only  as 
the  author  would  doubtless  have  effected  himself,  with 
leisure  for  their  consideration. 

Embracing  Church  history  in  which  "truth  is  stranger 
than  fiction,"  as  well  as  much  of  the  general  history 
of  Missouri,  the  book  can  scarcely  fail  to  interest  the 
general  reader.  The  volume,  such  as  it  is,  goes  forth 
to  a  charitable  public,  with  an  ardent  hope  and  prayer 
that  it  may  promote  true  Christianity,  especially  in  the 
territory  it  surveys! 

L.   M.  VERNON. 

ST.  CHARLES  COLLEGE,  Dec.  5,  1867. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION.  Page. 

1.  Views  of  leading  American  States- 

ixitju a i\ 

Washington — Declaration  of  In- 
dependence —  Jefferson  —  Con- 
gress of  1787 — Madison  —  Ran- 
dolph— Marion— Clay— Benton. 

2.  Recent    opinions  of    Pro-slavery 

Statesmen 13 

Prof.  Dew  in  183H— Gov.  M'Duffie 
in  1834— Gov.  Hammond  in 
1835— J.  0.  Calhoun. 

3.  Early     teaching     of     American 

Churches 13 

Baptists  in  1789— Presbyterians 
in  1794— Presbyterians  in  1818. 

4.  The  Methodists 15 

Their    Principles    in    1780— And 

1784— And  1845— Rev.  S.  Dun-' 
woody  in  1835. 

5.  Errors  of  Southern  Methodists  in 

1856,  and  onward 17 

G.  Teachings  of  Scripture 18 

7.  The  South-West  occupied  first  by 

preachers  from  the  North 19 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  RESTORATION  OF  THK  MKTHOmST 

EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  IN  THK 

SOUTH-WKST. 

1.  Preachers  of  our  Church  in  Mis- 

souri from  1845  to  1848.. 21 

Rev.  A.  Bewley. 

2.  Rev.  Mark  Robertson 22 

3.  Rev.  Nelson  Henry 22 

4.  Bishop  Soule  at  the  Missouri  Con- 

ference of  1845 22 

5.  Laborers  in  the  South-West  from 

1845  to  1848 23 

6.  Arrangements  for  184G 24 


7.  Reorganization  of  the  Methodist 

Episcopal  Church  in  the  South- 
West  in  1848 24 

Meager  support  of  Bewley  and 
Robertson  —  Eating  a  Negro 
Wench. 

8.  Warning  of  Robertson   to  leave 

Batesville 26 

9.  Bewley's  Children  Excluded  from 

School 27 

He  is  Warned  to  leave  the  Country. 

10.  Missouri  Conference  of  1»51 29 

11.  Arkansas  Conference  of  1852 30 

Political  Secession  predicted. 

12.  Arkansas  Conference  of  1853 31 

Martyrdom  of  Kelly. 

13.  Arkansas  Conference  of  1854 34 

Bewley  and    the    Campbellites— 

Kansas-Nebraska  Bill  — Stop- 
ping the  Supplies — General  Rule 
on  Slavery — Memphis  Advocate 
on  Slavery. 

14.  Persecution  of  Rev.  Wm.  Sellers...  39 
Persecuting  Declarations  of  Fa- 
bins  Township,  Marion  County, 
Mo. 

15.  Rev.  H.  C.  Atwater  on  Missouri 

Affairs 43 

Play  on  the  Term  Abolitionist. 

CHAPTER  III. 

K  V  K  N  T  3     OF     1855. 

1.  The  Arkansas  Conference 45 

Apostasy  of  Rev.  B.  M.  Scrivuer. 

2.  Persecution  of  Rev.  W.  H.  Wiley.  46 
Action  of  Missouri  Conference  on 

this. 

3.  Use  of  Blood-hounds  in  Missouri.  51 

4.  The  Trade  in  Slaves,  by  Rev.  J.  B. 

Finloy 64 

5.  Rev.  Wm.  Hosmer  on  Slavery 56 

Dr.  Durbin's  Reply. 


6 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

6.  The  Parkville  Luminary 59 

Nashville   Advocate  quoted,  and 

Missouri  Democrat. 

7.  Atwater's  Strictures 61 

Bishop  Morris's  Reply. 

8.  Attacks  on  our  Preachers 63 

North-Western    quoted  —  Conk- 

lin's  Reply — The  Texas  Advo- 
cate. 

9.  Controversy  on  the  Central 67 

10.  Missouri  Conference  Removed 68 

Resolutions  on  this. 

11.  Opposition  to  Jackson  Seminary..  72 

12.  Opposition  of  Southern  Method- 

ists   73 

St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate- 
Rev.  A.  Monroe— Rev.  B.  F. 
Crouch  on  California. 

13.  Violence  iu  the  Platte  Country....  76 

14.  Western   Virginia    and   Missouri 

Conferences 76 

15.  Dr.  Bond,  sen.,  on  this 77 

CHAPTER  IV. 

EVENTS     OP     1856. 

1.  Persecution  in  the  South-West....  79 
Rev.    Wm.    Sellers    Tarred    and 

Feathered— Murder  of  Holland. 

2.  Pro-slavery  Aid  Societies 83 

3.  Their  Address  on  invading  Kansas  83 
Undignified  response  of  President 

Pierce. 

4.  Attack  on  Fort  Leavenworth 86 

.5.  Outrages  in  Kansas 87 

6.  Anniversary    of    Martyrdom    of 
Holland,  June  30,1864 89 

CHAPTER  V. 

EVENTS     OF     1857. 

1.  Indications  of  Disunion 91 

Richmond  Enquirer  quoted. 

2.  Attempts  of  the  South  to  obtain 

Kansas 92 

Bishop  Pierce  on  this — The  Texas 
Advocate — Preaching  Politics. 

3.  Persistence  of  the  South  to  ob- 

tain Kansas 94 

Bishop  Pierce  on  this — Southern 
Christian  Advocate. 

4.  Dr.  Smith's  Pro-slavery  doctrines.  98 
6.  Dred  Scott  Case 99 

Judge      Taney's      Decision  — His 
opinion  in  1819. 


6.  University  of  Jefferson  City 103 

7.  Methodist  Episcopal    Church   in 

Missouri 105 

CHAPTER  VI. 

EVENTS     OP     1858. 

1.  Continued  opposition  to  the  Meth- 

odist Episcopal  Church  in  Mis- 
souri....  107 

Arkansas  Conference  —  Lynch- 
burg  Republican  quoted. 

2.  Distinction     between     the     two 

Churches  clearly  drawn 109 

Excision  of  General  Rule— Dr. 
Haven's  opinion  —  The  Rich- 
mond Whig  — Bishop  Soule's 
Pro-slavery  Speech. 

3.  Methodist  Episcopal    Church   in 

Missouri 113 

Dr.  M'Anally's  attack. 

4.  Change  of  opinion  in  the  South — 

Confessed  by  Texas  Advocate. ..114 
And  by  Cartwright,  of  New  Or- 
leans— English  and  Roman  laws 
considered. 

5.  The  Border  Conferences 117 

6.  Methodists  from  the  North  emi- 

grating to  Missouri 118 

Causes  of  this. 

7.  Sympathy  of  Missouri  with  Mary- 

land  122 

CHAPTER  VII. 

EVENTS    OP     1859. 

1.  Profligacy  of  Southern  Method- 

ists  125 

Dr.  Smith's  book. 

2.  Persecution  in  process. 126 

Meeting  at  Milwood,  Texas— At- 

_  tack  ou  the  Arkansas  Confer- 
ence— Resolutions  of  the  Mob- 
ocrats — Noble  course  of  Bishop 
Janes. < 

3.  Judge  Roberts's  defense 131 

Strictures  on  it. 

4.  Bishop  Janes  triumphant 134 

The  mob  justified  by  Southern  pa- 
pers. 

5.  C.    Elliott's    plea   for   Southern 

evangelization 138 

Rage  of  Southern  editors. 

6.  Raid  of  John  Brown 143 

Its  folly. 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

7.  Charter  of  a  Methodist  University 

Vetoed  in  Missouri 145 

8.  Genuine    character    of   Missouri 

Methodists 147 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
CAPTURE    AND    MURDER    OF    BEWLEY. 

1.  Why  Bewley  left  Texas 149 

Bishop  Pierce's  Murderous  Let- 
ter— Strictures  on  it. 

2.  Reasons    for   Bewley's   Appoint- 
ment to  Texas 151 

3.  Pleas  for  driving  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  from  Texas 152 

4.  Public  opinion  in  Texas 154 

5.  His  departure  from  Texas 157 

Incidents  on  the  way. 

6.  Arrival  in  Benton  county,  Ark.. ..158 

7.  Is  overtaken  by  a  Mob 158 

8.  His  arrival  in  Barry  county,  Mo.160 

9.  Advertised  at  a  Camp  Meeting....l60 

10.  Seized  by  a  Mob 161 

11.  Inhumanity  of  the  Mob 161 

12.  Not  allowed  to  see  his  family 162 

13.  Is  taken  to  Fayetteville,  Ark 162 

His  treatment  there. 

14.  Bewley's    farewell    letter   to  his 

family 163 

15.  His  Execution  in  Texas 166 

Rev.  H.W.  South's  Statement— 

H.  0.  Hoover's  letter— St.  Louis 
Advocate  quoted— Bishop  Mor- 
ris on  Bewley. 

16.  Survey  of  Bewley's  character 173 

E.  G.  Evans  on  Bewley— And  Rev. 

M.  Robertson — Bishop  Morris — 
Joshua  Monroe— Dr.  Cartwright. 

17.  Bewley's  family 178 

Their  desolate  condition. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

OBSERVATIONS    ON    THE    MURDER    OF 
BEWLEY. 

1.  Forged  letter  to  Wm.  H.  Bailey...l81 
Misrepresentations  of  Rev.  J.   K. 

Burke  and  Dr.  M'Arially. 

2.  Bishop    Morris's    letter    on    the 

Forgery 185 

3.  Southern  Methodist  papers  on  it..l87 

4.  Strictures  of  the  Texas  Advocate.189 

6.  H.  W.  South's  censures 191 

6.  Dr.  Hamilton's  remarks 191 


7.  The  Cumberlands  on  Bewley 192 

8.  Resolutions  of  Pittsburg  Preach- 

ers  194 

9.  Was  he  Bewley's  Hangman 196 

Southern  Advocate  on  this. 

10.  Strictures  of  Mr.  Evans  on  Bai- 
ley's letter 198 

CHAPTER  X. 

ANTECEDENTS   OF  1861. 

1.  General  opposition  to  Methodist 

Episcopal  Church 200 

Cynthiana  News. 

2.  Bledsoe's  Pro-slavery  Book 201 

3.  Action  of  Baltimore  Conference.. 204 
Dr.  Bond's,  jr.,  Sentiment. 

4.  Dejection  of  Southern  Clergy 206 

South  Carolina  Advocate  quoted — 

Clay's  Sentiments. 

5.  Disunion  among  Politicians 210 

Richmond  Advocate  quoted. 

6.  Narratives  of  D.  0.  Hoover 211 

7.  Disunion  in  Border  Conferences... 217 

8.  Attempts    to    bring    the    Border 

Conferences  South 218 

J.  B.  M'Ferrin's  plan — St.  Louis 
Advocate  —  Richmond  Advo- 
cate— New  Orleans  Advocate — 
Rev.  J.  B.  Morgan's  Views. 

9.  Bishop  Pierce  in  favor  of  taking 

Southern  Methodism  North 222 

10.  Sensation   in   the    South  on   the 

Election  of  Lincoln 224 

Southern  papers  on  this. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

EVENTS  PRECEDING  THE  CAPTURE  OP 
CAMP  JACKSON. 

1.  Declarations  of  Southern  States..227 

2.  Of   Southern   Methodist   Confer- 

ences  228 

South  Carolina — Alabama — Geor- 
gia— New  Orleans  Advocate — 
The  Nashville  Advocate. 

3.  Plan   to  seize   the  Arsenal    and 

Sub-Treasury 230 

4.  Movements  of  Missouri  Legisla- 

ture  231 

5.  Action  of  the  Legislature 231 

6.  Gov.  Jackson's  Inauguration 232 

7.  Convention  called  January  28th.232 
Convention  met  February  28th. 


CONTENTS. 


8.  Fort  Sumter  taken  April  14th....233 

9.  Conspiracies  in  Missouri 233 

10.  Gov.  Jackson  seizes  the  Arsenal 

at  Liberty 234 

11.  Massachusetts  Soldiers  in  Balti- 

more  235 

12.  Gov.  Jackson's  order 235 

13.  The  State  Arming 236 

14.  The  Minute-Men 237 

15.  Rebel  movements  in  Missouri 238 

16.  The  utterances  of  the  Press 239 

St.  Louis  Advocate. 

17.  Methodist   Episcopal   Church  in 

the  South-West 239 

Washita  Journal. 

18.  Seat  of  Conference  changed 243 

19.  Letters  of  Editor  to  Mr.  Chase 

and  Mr.  Cameron 243 

CHAPTER  XII. 

CAPTURE  OF  CAMP  JACKSON. 

1.  Survey  of  Missouri  Affairs 247 

2.  Capture  of  Camp  Jackson 248 

Gen.  Barney's  Proclamation— Our 

Employment. 

3.  Truce  of  May  21st 251 

4.  Editor's  Address  to  the  Members 

and  Ministers  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church 252 

5.  Remonstrance  to  Southern  Meth- 

odists  253 

6.  Persecution  of  Methodist  Episco- 

pal Church 256 

Mr.  Evans  —  Letter   found  in  a 
Rebel's  pocket. 

7.  Editorial  on  the  Stripes  and  Stars261 

8.  Persecution  of  Rev.Z.  S.  Weller..262 

9.  The  Dernier  resort 2G5 

10.  Methodist    Episcopal  Church   in 

Missouri 267 

11.  Bishop  Morris's  letter  on  Obedi- 

ence to  Law 268 

12.  Encouraging  items 270 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

EVENTS     OP    JUNE,     1861. 

1.  Persecutions  of  Preachers 273 

Of  Rev.  S.  Ing  — Of  Rev.  Wm. 

Wood. 

2.  Expulsion  of  Preachers  in  Texas.275 

3.  Other  cases 275 

Of  Rev.  A.  J.Gaither— Of  Rev.  R. 

B.  Witter— Of  Rev.  J.  W.  Prince. 


Pago. 

4.  Support  of  Rebellion  by  papers. ..277 
Tucker's  paper — St.  Louis  Chris- 
tian Advocate — Bishop  Andrew 
quoted. 

5.  Persecution  of  Mr.  Gardner 282 

6.  Delusion  of  Southern  Methodists285 

7.  Missouri   State  Journal,  by  Mr. 

Tucker 286 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

JULY    TO    OCTOBER,    1861. 

1.  Suppression  of  Methodist  Episco- 

pal Church  in  Missouri  in  1845.288 
Plan  of  driving  out  our  Church— 
Our  editorial  on  this. 

2.  The  disloyal  press 290 

The  Republican— St.  Louis  Chris- 
tian Advocate — Tucker's  Trea- 
son, December  18th. 

3.  Sufferings  of  Methodist  Episcopal 

Church  from  Secession 294 

Rev.  E.  Mudge— Rev.  S.  S.  Wood. 

4.  Rev.  Wood  at  our  office 297 

6.  Events  in  July 297 

Rev.  J.  Brooks   becomes   Chap- 
lain—Rebel Flags. 

6.  Interesting  events  in  Jnly 299 

Baltimore  Advocate    at    Hanni- 
bal—Rev. N.   Shumate— Fugi- 
tives coming  to  Missouri — Rev. 
Mr.   Ing — Missouri    Conference 
Methodist    Episcopal     Church 
South. 

7.  Events  of  August 300 

Apostasy  of  Southern  preachers — 

Death  of  Gen.  Lyon — Rev.  J. 
E.  Baker  and  Rev.  Reed— Rev. 
S.  S.  Wood. 

8.  Sophistry  of  St.  Louis  Advocate.. 303 
Mr.  M'Kinstry's  answer — Reasons 

proving  its  Disloyalty. 

9.  Persecutions  of  our  Church 306 

Rev.  D.  David— Macon  City. 

10.  Letter  of  Rev.  N.  Shumate 307 

11.  Letter  of  Rev.  J.  H.  Cox 309 

12.  About  our  Flag 311 

13.  Our  Flags 314 

14.  Encouraging  View  of  Missouri. ..315 

15.  Encouraging  Resolutions  of  Con- 

ferences  318 

16.  Editor's  Address  to  the  Preachers 

and  Members  in  the  South- West318 

17.  The  State  of  the  Country...., 321 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


Pape. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SOLDIER 325 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

EVENTS    OP    OCTOBER,    1861. 

1.  Politics  affecting  the  Church 331 

Rev.  James  Boyle  quoted. 

2.  Patriotism  of  our  Preachers 334 

3.  Methodists  of  Louisiana 336 

4.  The  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate 

and  the  Rebel  Cause 337 

5.  Letter  of  Hon.  E.  G.  Evans 338 

6.  A  General  Survey 339 

Letter    from    Prof.     Mudge— St. 

Louis  Churches. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

EVENTS    OF    NOVEMBER,    1861. 

1.  Emigration  from  Missouri 344 

2.  Sufferings  of  our  Preachers  and 

People 344 

Rev.  A.  J.  Gaither — Rev.  H.  Mar- 
tin—Rev. A.  H.  Powell— Rev. 
Mr.  Reah— Rev.  F.  S.  Beggs. 

3.  Kansas  City  District 346 

Letter  of  Rev.  J.  C.  Smith. 

4.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

in  Missouri,  November  27th 348 

5.  State  of  the  Country 351 

G,  Dolorous  mournings  of  Dr.  M'Au- 

ally,  November  21st 351 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

EVENTS    OF    DECEMBER,    1861. 

1.  Notable  points  at  this  time 353 

Persecution  of  Rev.  R.  J.  White. 

2.  Sufferings  of  Rev.  James  Lee 354 

3.  Rev.  N.  Shumate  and  a  Copper- 

head Preacher 355 

4.  Address  of  the  Editor 356 

Exhortation  to  the  Persecuted — 

Prepare  the  Banners. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

EVENTS     OF     1862. 

1.  Dr.   M'Anally's  pleas    for   Man- 

stealing 359 

2.  Editor's  plea  for  the  Central 3til 

3.  Case  of  Rev.  Mr.  Lilian 301 

4.  Conservatives  prepare  to  receive 

Price 362 


Page. 

5.  Southern  Methodist  preachers  for 

Rebellion 363 

Rev.  Mr.  Caples  and  others. 

6.  Editorial  remarks 365 

7.  Union  Church  in  St.  Louis 366 

8.  Session  of   Missouri   Conference, 

February  26th 369 

9.  Discouragements  of  Dr.  M'Anally376 

10.  C.  Elliott's  letter  to  Dr.  Thom- 

son 011  opening  Union  Church...377 

11.  Strictures  on  St.  Louis  Advocate..381 
The  Democrat  quoted. 

12.  Southern   Methodists    aiming  at 

occupying  Free  Territory 382 

13.  Rev.  Joshua  Richardson 383 

14.  Passes  still  required 386 

15.  Suppression  of  St.  Louis  Advocate385 
Reasons  for  it. 

16.  Church  Affairs  in  Missouri 390 

17.  Bishop  Morris's  letter  to  Rev.  H. 

Cox 393 

18.  Southern  Methodist  Book-Room. .394 

19.  Contrast  of  July  4th  with  that 

of  1861 395 

20.  Desolation  of  Southern  Method- 

ist Church  in  New  Orleans 397 

21.  Loyal  Southern  Methodists 397 

Contrast  of  the  t\vo  Churches. 


CHAPTER  XX. 
THE  HEROIC  MAJOR 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

EVENTS     OF     1863. 

1.  Initiation  of  the  Year  of  Jubilee..411 

2.  Instances  of  this  in  Providence...411 
Rev.    John    Moorhead    quoted — 

Preachers  Murdered  in  Arkan- 
sas. 

3.  Calls  for  Loyal  Preachers 414 

4.  Results  of  Emancipation  Procla- 

mation  414 

5.  Editorial  survey  of  the  present 

state  of  things 415 

6.  Information  from  Arkansas 417 

7.  Uprising  of  Southern  Methodists.418 

8.  Missouri  Conference  at  Hannibal.419 
Statistics  of  Missouri  and  Arkan- 
sas Conferences. 

9.  Encouraging  prospects 421 

10.  Rev.  A.  H.Powell 422 

11.  Change  ou  the  subject  of  Slavery  .422 


10 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

12.  Repudiation  of  Southern   Meth- 

odism  423 

13.  Loyal    Southern     Methodists    of 

Kansas  City 424" 

14.  Disloyalty  of  Missouri  Churches..426 

15.  Loyal  Christians  encouraged  by 

the  War 427 

16.  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  en- 

couraged  428 

17.  The  Religious  Element  in  Mis- 

souri  429 

18.  Bushwhackers  in  Missouri 430 

19.  Contest  on  Slavery 432 

20.  Bishop  Kavanaugh  in  Missouri. ..435 

21.  Arrest  of  Bratton 436 

22.  Remarks  on  Public  Affairs 436 

23.  The  Radicals  and  Conservatives.. .442 

24.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

in  August.. 443 

25    The  two  Political  Parties 445 


26.  Precarious  condition  of  Missouri.44(3 

27.  Gradual  advancement  in  Novem- 

ber and  December 448 

28.  The  Past 449 

29.  The  Future 452 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

EVENTS    OP    1864. 

1.  Methodist   Episcopal  Church   in 

Missouri 455 

Statistics. 

2.  Murder  of  Arkansas  Preachers... .458 

3.  Secular  Affairs  of  Missouri 459 

4.  Missouri  Conference 4fiO 

5.  Occupancy  of  Southern  Churches4G2 

6.  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South465 
Confederate  Almanac. 

7.  Murder  by  Bushwhackers 4C7 

8.  Conclusion....  4G8 


SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 


CHAPTER    I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

As  preliminary  to  this  volume,  we  deem  it  proper  to  pre- 
sent the  views  on  slavery  as  they  were  originally  entertained 
by  our  leading  statesmen,  next  by  the  Churches  outside  of 
Methodism,  and  then  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South. 

1.  We  first  present  the  views  of  our  leading  American 
statesmen  on  this  subject: 

"  It  is  the  most  earnest  wish  of  America  to  see  an  entire 
stop  forever  put  to  the  wicked,  cruel,  and  unnatural  trade 
in  slaves."  (Meeting  at  Fairfax,  Va.,  July  18,  1776,  pre- 
sided over  by  Washington.) 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  was  proclaimed  July  4, 
1776.  Jefferson's  original  draft  of  this  contains  the  fol- 
lowing: 

"The  King  of  Great  Britain  has  waged  cruel  war  against 
human  nature  itself,  violating  its  most  sacred  rights  of  life 
and  liberty  in  the  persons  of  a  distant  people  who  never 
oifended  him,  captivating  them  and  carrying  them  into  slav- 
ery in  another  hemisphere,  or  to  incur  miserable  death  in 
their  transportation  hither." 

In  1776  we  have  the  following  in  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence: "All  men  are  created  free." 


12  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

"I  tremble  for  my  country  when  I  reflect  that  God  is 
just."  (Jefferson's  notes  in  1782.) 

"The  scheme,  my  dear  Marquis,  which  you  propose  as  a 
precedent  to  encourage  the  black  people  in  this  country  in 
a  state  of  bondage  in  which  they  are  held  is  a  striking  evi- 
dence of  the  goodness  of  your  heart."  (Washington  to 
Lafayette,  1783.) 

"There  is  not  a  man  living  who  wishes  more  sincerely 
than  I  do  to  see  a  plan  adopted  for  the  abolition  of  slav- 
ery." (Washington,  April  12,  1786.) 

"After  the  year  1800  of  the  Christian  Era  there  shall  be 
neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  in  any  of  the  said 
States."  (Ordinance  of  1787,  unanimously  approved  by  Con- 
gress, and  signed  by  Washington.) 

"We  have  seen  the  mere  distinction  of  color  made  in 
the  most  enlightened  period  of  time,  a  ground  of  the  most 
oppressive  dominion  ever  exercised  by  man  over  man." 
(Madison.) 

"We  have  found  that  this  evil  has  preyed  upon  the  very 
vitals  of  the  Union,  and  has  been  prejudicial  to  all  the 
States  in  which  it  has  existed."  (James  Monroe.) 

"The  tariff"  was  only  the  pretext,  and  disunion  and  a 
Southern  Confederacy  the  real  object.  The  next  pretext 
will  be  the  negro,  or  slavery  question."  (Andrew  Jackson, 
in  1833.) 

"  Sir,  I  envy  not  the  heart  nor  the  head  of  that  man  from 
the  North  who  rises  here  to  defend  slavery  from  princi- 
ple." (John  Randolph.) 

"  The  people  of  Carolina  form  two  classes,  the  rich  and 
the  poor.  The  poor  are  very  poor.  The. rich,  who  have 
slaves  to  do  their  work,  give  them  no  employment.  The 
little  they  get  is  laid  out  in  brandy,  not  in  books  and  news- 
papers. Hence  they  know  nothing  of  the  comparative  bless- 
ings of  our^  country,  or  of  the  dangers  which  threaten  it. 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

Therefore  they  care  nothing  about  it."  (General  Marion  to 
Baron  de  Kalb.) 

"So  long  as  God  allows  the  vital  current  to  flow  through 
my  veins  I  will  never,  never,  NEVER,  by  word  or  thought, 
by  mind  or  will,  aid  in  admitting  one  rood  of  free  territory 
to  the  everlasting  curse  of  human  bondage."  (Henry  Clay.) 

Alluding  to  the  time  the  above  sentiment  was  uttered, 
Thomas  H.  Benton  declares:  "That  was  a  proud  day.  I 
could  have  wished  that  I  had  spoken  the  same  words.  I 
speak  them  now,  telling  you  they  were  his,  and  adopting 
them  as  my  own." 

Similar  sentiments  were  uttered  by  our  statesmen  up  to 
the  year  1832. 

2.  In  the  year  1832  and  onward  our  statesmen  began  to 
declare  in  favor  of  slavery. 

In  the  year  1832  Professor  Dew,  of  William  and  Mary 
College,  Virginia,  wrote  an  elaborate  essay  in  favor  of  slav- 
ery, a  copy  of  which  we  possess;  and  this  seems  to  be  the 
first  open  attempt  to  sustain,  by  the  press,  the  institution. 
His  essay  was  designed  to  counteract  the  movement  being 
then  made  by  other  Virginians  to  do  away  slavery  in  the 
State  as  a  means  of  preventing  such  slave  insurrections  as 
that  made  at  Northampton,  Va. 

The  next  plea  for  slavery  was  made  in  1834,  by  Mr. 
M'Duffie,  Governor  of  South  Carolina,  in  his  inaugural 
message. 

In  1835  Governor  Hammond  issued  a  similar  pro-slavery 
message. 

Mr.  Calhoun  was  of  the  same  opinion  with  these — and 
doubtless  there  were  many  then  to  agree  with  them — and 
thus  the  political  heresy  progressed  till  it  ended  in  disunion, 
bloodshed,  and  every  evil  work. 

3.  The  early  teachings  of  most  of  the  American  Churches 
were  strongly  antislavery. 


14  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

In  1789  Baptists  in  Virginia  expressed  themselves  in 
these  terms:  "Resolved,  That  slavery  is  a  violent  deprivation 
of  the  rights  of  nature,  and  inconsistent  with  republican 
government;  and  therefore  we  recommend  to  our  brethren 
to  make  use  of  every  measure  to  extirpate  this  horrid  evil 
from  our  land"  etc. 

Most  Baptists  in  the  South  have  since  erred  much,  being 
rankly  pro-slavery. 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  in 
1794,  adopted  a  note  to  the  142d  question  in  the  Larger 
Catechism  in  the  Confession  of  Faith,  in  the  words  follow- 
ing: "1  Tim.  i,  10:  The  law  was  made  for  man-stealers. 
This  crime,  among  the  Jews,  exposed  the  perpetrators  of  it 
to  capital  punishment—  Ex.  xxi,  16  —  and  the  apostle  here 
classes  them  with  sinners  of  the  first  rank.  The  word  he 
uses,  in  its  original  import,  comprehends  all  who  are  con- 
cerned in  bringing  any  of  the  human  race  into  slavery,  or 
RETAINING  THEM  IN  IT.  l  Hominum  fures,  qui  servos  vel  lib- 
eros  abducunt,  retinent,  vendunt,  vel  emunt.'  Stealers  of  men 
are  those  who  bring  off  slaves  or  freemen,  and  KEEP,  SELL, 
OR  BUY  THEM.  To  steal  a  free  man,  says  Grotius,  is  the 
highest  kind  of  theft.  In  other  instances  we  may  steal 
human  property,  but  when  we  steal  or  retain  men  in  slavery 
we  seize  those  who,  in  common  with  ourselves,  are  consti- 
tuted, by  the  original  grant,  lords  of  the  earth.  (Gen. 


The  following  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted  by  the 
Presbyterian  General  Assembly,  in  1818:  "We  consider  the 
voluntary  enslaving  of  one  part  of  the  human  race  by  an- 
other as  utterly  inconsistent  with  the  law  of  God,  which 
enjoins  that  "all  things  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men 
should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them." 

The  Presbyterian  Synod  of  Kentucky,  in  1835,  adopted 
a  report,  in  much  detail,  that  denounced  slavery  in  terms 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

as  strong  as  John  Wesley  did,  who  called  it  "  the  sum  of  all 
villainies." 

Such  were  the  early  views  on  this  great  subject  held  by 
Presbyterians. 

4.  The  Methodists,  as  all  know,  have  unequivocally  ut- 
tered the  most  expressive  declarations  against  slavery, 
from  the  organization  of  their  Church  down  to  the  pres- 
ent time. 

In  1780  the  testimony  was  in  the  following  words,  from 
the  Baltimore  Conference,  which,  at  that  time,  was  virtually 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Churcn:  "This  Conference  ac- 
knowledges that  slavery  is  contrary  to  the  law  of  God,  man, 
and  nature,  and  hurtful  to  society;  contrary  to  the  dictates 
of  conscience  and  pure  religion,  and  doing  that  which  we 
would  not  that  others  should  do  to  us  and  ours.  We  pass 
our  disapprobation  on  all  our  friends  who  keep  slaves,  and 
advise  their  freedom." 

The  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  at  its  organization  in  1784,  makes  the  following 
declaration:  "We  view  slavery  as  contrary  to  the  golden 
law  of  God,  on  which  hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets, 
and  the  unalienable  rights  of  mankind,  as  well  as  every 
principle  of  the  Revolution,  to  hold  in  the  deepest  debase- 
ment, in  a  more  abject  slavery  than  is  perhaps  to  be  found 
in  any  part  of  the  world  except  America,  so  many  souls 
that  are  all  capable  of  the  image  of  God." 

October  2,  1805,  the  quarterly  conference  of  Livingston 
circuit,  of  the  Western  Conference,  then  embracing  Ken- 
tucky, in  a  memorial  signed  by  W.  M'Kendree,  President 
of  the  Conference,  speaks  as  follows: 

"Though  we  can  not  assist  you  with  money,  at  present, 
to  extend  the  work  of  the  Lord,  we  can  no  doubt  gladden 
your  hearts  by  giving  you  a  view  of  our  purifying  work 


16  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

at  home.  Isaiah  saith,  'Undo  the  heavy  burdens,  let  the 
oppressed  go  free,  break  every  yoke,  .  .  .  and  thou  shalt 
be  like  a  watered  garden,  a  spring  of  water  which  faileth 
not;  yea,  thou  shalt  be  the  restorer  of  the  paths  to  walk 
in.'  This  day  our  official  brethren  voluntarily  submitted 
all  their  slaves  to  the  judgment  of  Conference,  whether 
bought  with  their  money  before  or  after  joining  the  society, 
given,  or  born  in  their  house,  and  we,  thereby,  had  the  un- 
speakable pleasure  of  decreeing  salvation  from  slavery  in 
favor  of  twenty-two  immortal  souls;  we  did  not  reprobate 
one  of  them.  Now,  if  the  "grace  of  God  can  prompt  men 
to  act  thus,  you  may  rest  assured  that  the  God  of  grace 
never  designed  one  immortal  soul  for  eternal  burnings. 
Brother  William  Cade  made  a  free  offering  of  thirteen ; 
now,  eight  of  these  cost  him  $1,770,  bought  before  joined; 
the  other  five  were  given,  or  born  in  his  house.  Brother 
Josiah  Ramsey  offered  up  six  on  the  altar  of  love;  two  of 
these  cost  him  $850;  the  rest  were  born  in  his  house. 
Brother  James  T.  White  one  living,  man,  which  was  his  all. 
Brothers  Lewis  Barker  and  Robert  Galloway  one  apiece. 
All  these  are  to  have  salvation  recorded  speedily,  and 
brother  Thomas  Randolph  proposed  his  for  the  next  quar- 
terly meeting.  When  this  is  done  we  shall,  as  far  as  we 
know,  be  free  from  the  stain  of  blood  in  our  official  depart- 
ment. Glory!  Halleluiah!  Praise  ye  the  Lord! 

"One  thought  more.  If  it  be  consistent  with  your  au- 
thority, and  it  seemeth  good  unto  you,  we  should  be  glad 
of  liberty  to  exclude  buying  and  selling  from  our  Church, 
and  to  require  of  all  slaveholders  who  may  hereafter  be- 
come members  of  the  Church  to  submit  their  slaves  to  the 
judgment  of  Conference,  who  shall  determine  the  time  of 
servitude  upon  the  same  principle,  and  have  a  bill  of  man- 
umission recorded  in  the  same  manner  as  the  form  of  Dis- 
cipline requires  of  buying  a  slave. 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

\ 

"We  are,  dear  fathers,  your  sons  and  fellow-laborers  in 
the  kingdom  and  patience  of  Christ. 

"Signed  in  behalf  and  by  order  of  Conference. 

"W.  M'KENDREE, 

"JAMES  T.  WHITE." 

Such  were  the  doctrines  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  1805,  such  were  they  previous  to  that  time,  and 
even  down  to  the  present  year  of  grace,  1868. 

The  teaching  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  may  be 
summed  up  as  follows:  That  slavery  is  contrary  to  natural 
law,  to  justice,  to  all  the  principles  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution in  1776,  and  to  the  law  of  God,  and  that  it  ought  to 
be  extirpated. 

Yet,  in  the  far  South,  after  1832,  the  teachings  of  some 
leading  preachers  seemed  to  run  into  the  track  of  the 
pro-slavery  politicians.  Rev.  Samuel  Dun  woody,  in  1835, 
preached  a  sermon  before  the  South  Carolina  Conference 
which  was  truly  pro-slavery,  and  in  1836  he  repeated  the 
same  sentiments  in  Cincinnati,  before  the  General  Confer- 
ence, much  to  the  mortification  of  the  Southern  preachers. 
Even  in  1844  the  leading  Southern  preachers  denounced 
slavery  on  the  floor  of  General  Conference. 

5.  But,  after  the  secession  of  the  Southern  Methodists,  in 
1845,  the  pro-slavery  elements  that  had  been  accumulating 
in  some  instances  soon  became  general.  In  1854  the  South- 
ern Methodists  struck  out  of  the  Methodist  Discipline  the 
chapter  against  slavery,  and  in  1858,  by  the  united  votes  of 
their  General  Conference  and  their  Annual  Conferences, 
they  struck  out  of  the  General  Rules  the  powerful  anti- 
slavery  rule  that  forbid  all  purchase  and  sale  of  human  be- 
ings. Shortly  after,  they  generally  maintained  that  slavery 
was  supported  by  Scripture,  thus  filling  up  the  measure  of 
their  apostasy  by  giving  all  the  aid  and  comfort  in  their 

2 


18  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

power  to  a  direct  breach  of  God's  moral  law,  and  then,  very 
naturally,  they  became  the  willing  partners  of  rebels  in  en- 
deavoring to  destroy  the  Government  of  the  country. 

6.  The  teachings  of  Scripture  on  this  subject  can  be  pre- 
sented in  a  nutshell. 

Abraham  was  an  emancipator  who  bought  many  slaves 
and  set  them  free,  of  whom  the  patriarch  became  the  civil 
head.  To  these  emancipated  slaves,  or  freedmen,  were 
added  those  born  in  the  house,  or  raised  in  this  free  com- 
munity. The  instances  of  slavery  in  the  days  of  the  patri- 
archs were  such  cases  as  that  of  Joseph,  which  alone  con- 
demns slavery  in  the  most  decided  acts  of  God's  providence. 

Among  the  Jews  the  fundamental  law  was,  "He  that 
stealeth  a  man  and  selleth  him,  or  if  he  be  found  in  his 
hand,  he  shall  surely  be  put  to  death."  Ex.  xxi,  16.  This 
law  was  repeated  afterward  to  the  Jews;  for  the  bonds- 
men of  the  Jews  were  not  slaves,  and,  in  order  to  prevent 
the  extension  of  the  servitude  agreed  on  between  the  bond- 
man and  his  master,  the  contract  must  finally  stop  at  the 
year  of  jubilee.  Such  was  the  Mosaic  law,  which  was  fol- 
lowed up  by  the  prophets. 

Besides,  it  was  part  of  the  great  commission  of  Christ,  as 
foretold  by  Isaiah,  and  uttered  by  himself,  to  set  at  liberty 
the  captives,  thus  prohibiting  the  commencing  act  of  enslav- 
ing. Another  part  of  Christ's  mission  was  to  set  at  liberty 
those  that  were  bruised;  namely,  all  who  were  now  slaves 
should  be  set  free,  while  the  captives  taken  in  war  should 
not  be  permitted  to  become  slaves  by  their  sale.  Such  were 
two  of  the  great  objects  of  Christ's  mission;  namely,  to  pre- 
vent any  from  being  made  slaves,  as  well  as  to  set  free  those 
already  in  slavery, 

And  so  does  Paul  teach,  who  ranks  man-stealers  with  the 
worst  class  of  sinners,  even  with  murderers  of  fathers  and 
murderers  of  mothers — 1  Tim.  i,  9,  10 — and,  indeed,  such 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

were  the  teachings  and  the  practice  of  the  first  Christians 
for  several  hundred  years  after  Christ. 

7.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  with  her  strong  anti- 
slavery  creed,  or,  if  you  will,  with  her  abolition  teachings 
and  practice,  was  the  first  propagator  of  religion  in  the 
South-West. 

In  1818  Missouri  was  on  the  Minutes  in  the  Illinois 
Conference.  Jesse  Walker  was  presiding  elder,  with  ten 
preachers,  and  1,482  members.  John  Scripps  was  this  year 
on  Boonlick  circuit,  and  in  1819  on  Cape  Grirardeau  circuit, 
and  David  Sharp  was  on  Silver  Creek  circuit  in  1819. 

Thomas  Drummond,  in  1834,  and  Nelson  Henry  were 
transferred  to  the  Missouri  Conference.  Mr.  Drummond 
died  June,  1835,  having  served  to  great  advantage  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  St.  Louis,  and  his  grave  is 
now  in  the  Wesleyan  cemetery  near  St.  Louis.  I  remem- 
ber his  dying  message  to  the  Pittsburg  Conference:  "Tell 
my  brethren  of  the  Pittsburg  Conference  that  I  died  at  my 
post."  '  It  was,  indeed,  a  time  of  weeping  in  the  Confer- 
ence-when  the  chair  mentioned  the  message  to  the  full  Con- 
ference. Nelson  Henry,  too,  was  a  man  of  like  spirit,  and 
served  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  faithfully  in  Mis- 
souri till  his  death.  Thus  preachers  from  the  North  planted 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Missouri. 

The  same  remark  will  apply  to  Texas.  Dr.  Ruter,  from 
the  Pittsburg  Conference,  in  1837,  was  the  first  superin- 
tendent of  the  then  Texas  mission.  In  1842  Daniel  Poe, 
Homer  S,  Thrall,  John  W.  Devilbiss,  William  J.  Thurber,1 
William  0.  Connor,  and  Richard  Walker  were  transferred 
to  Texas  from  the  Ohio  Conference,  at  its  session  in  Spring- 
field. These,  also,  were  Northern  men.  Many  others  whose 

1  These  dying  words  of  the  heroic  Drumraond  inspired  Rev.  William  Hunter, 
D.  D.,  to  write  a  beautiful  and  touching  hymn,  commencing,  "  Away  from  his 
home  and  the  friends  of  his  youth,"  etc.  It  may  be  found  on  the  328th  page  of  the 
"  Select  Melodies."— EDITOR. 


20  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

names  I  do  not  recollect  were  pioneer  Methodist  preachers 
in  the  South-West,  as  the  foregoing  names  are  only  spec- 
imens. 

Thus  Northern  philanthropy  and  Christian  enterprise 
first  carried  the  Gospel  into  these  then  remote  parts.  The 
same  sources  continued  to  supply  laborers  for  the  opened 
vineyard,  sending  them  in  from  time  to  time  as  the  widen- 
ing fields  and  increased  demands  required.  Those  inaugu- 
rating this  spiritual  husbandry  in  the  sunny  South-Western 
wilds,  little  dreamed  of  the  vengeful  storm  that  was  ere- 
long to  assail  their  "work  of  faith  and  labor  of  love." 

How  the  tempest  raged,  felling,  scattering,  and  finally 
driving  in  dismay  the  laborers  from  the  field  till  recalled 
by  the  voice  of  God's  providence,  proclaiming  the  overthrow 
of  injustice  and  oppression  and  the  reestablishment  of  law 
and  liberty,  will  be  unfolded  in  the  following  pages. 


OUR  CHURCH  IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST.  21 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE  RESTORATION  OF  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH  IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST. 

1.  THE  period  in  which  the  regular  ministrations  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  South-West  were  sus- 
pended, or  from  1845  to  1848,  will  now  call  for  considera- 
tion. Several  persons  acted  a  prominent  part  in  rendering 
important  services  at  this  time,  among  whom  we  may  name 
Rev.  Anthony  Bewley,  Rev.  Mark  Robertson,  Rev.  Nelson 
Henry  as  permanent  laborers.  Others  performed  temporary 
service  at  this  juncture,  the  principal  of  whom  was  Rev. 
Peter  Akers. 

Rev.  Anthony  Bewley  must  be  mentioned  with  peculiar 
interest.  He  was  born  in  Tennessee,  May  22,  1804.  His 
parents  were  Methodists  and  his  father,  John  Bewley,  was 
a  local  preacher.  He  joined  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  his  seventeenth  year,  and  professed  religion  the  year  fol- 
lowing. At  the  Holston  Conference,  held  at  Abingdon,  Va., 
December  24,  1829,  he  was  admitted  on  trial  into  the  trav- 
eling connection.  After  traveling  five  years  he  located. 
About  this  time  he  was  married  to  Miss  Jane  Winton.  In 
1837  he  moved  to  Missouri,  and  settled  in  Polk  county, 
about  seventy-five  miles  north  of  the  Arkansas  line,  and 
sixty-five  miles  east  of  Kansas.  At  the  Missouri  Confer- 
ence, held  at  Lexington,  Mo.,  October  4,  1843,  he  was  read- 
mitted into  the  traveling  connection,  and  appointed  to  Neo- 
sho  circuit,  in  the  south-western  part  of  the  Sta.te.  In  1844 
he  was  appointed  to  Sarcoxie  circuit,  in  the  Springfield 


22  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

•district.     Such  are  the  early  incidents  connected  with   the 
life  of  Rev.  Anthony  Bewley. 

2.  Another  prominent  actor  in  the  time  of  the  suspension 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  ia  Missouri  was  Rev. 
Mark  Robertson.     He  was  originally  from  North  Carolina. 
His  parents  moved  to  Tennessee,  and  subsequently  to  Galla- 
tin  county,  111.,  while  he  was  a  minor.     He  was  licensed  to 
preach  in  1834,  and,  as  a  local  preacher,  was  ordained  dea- 
con, in  1843,  by  Bishop  Andrew.     In  1845,  having  moved 
to  Missouri,  he  joined  Mr.  Bewley  in  serving  the  remnants 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  after  the  Missouri  Con- 
ference had  gone  South,  in  1845. 

3.  Rev.  Nelson  Henry  was  a  man  of  remarkable  firmness 
and   self-sacrifice.     While  the  wide-spread   and   contagious 
apostasy  of  the  South  swept  thousands  from  right  principles 
and  a  humane  practice,  he  wavered  not  in  devotion  to  the 
Church  of  his   fathers,  but  served   her  faithful   fragments 
with  commendable  zeal  and  fidelity. 

4.  The  Missouri  Conference  sat  in  Columbia,  Mo.,  Sep- 
tember 24,  1845,  at  which  Bishop  Soule  presided,  and  used 
every  effort  to   carry  South    the  Conference.     He   made  a 
long  and  elaborate  speech  in  favor  of  secession,  and  took 
especial  pains  to  confute  the  positions  of  Dr.  Elliott,  at  that 
time  editor  of  the  Western   Christian  Advocate.     He  was 
but  too  successful  in  wafting  over  the  body  of  preachers  iu 
favor  of  uniting  with  the  new  Church  just  formed  under 
the  name  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South. 

As  the  alphabetical  list  of  the  Conference  was  called,  and 
each  answered  to  his  name,  Mr.  Bewley's  name  was"  soon 
reached,  and  his  response  was,  "The  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  the  United  States  of  America."  This  was  an  ut- 
terance worthy  of  the  purest  days  of  Christian  confession 
and  martyrdom,  if  the  circumstances  are  considered.  And 
from  that  very  hour  the  demon  of  persecution  went  howling 


OUR  CHURCH  IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST.  23 

upon  his  track,  nor  ever  ceased  till  it  was  glutted  with  his 
life-blood. 

The  Bishop  and  his  allies  employed  a  fiction  with  which 
to  entangle  the  memory.  It  was  deceptiously  couched  in 
the  requirement  that  each  should  answer  North  or  South  as 
his  name  was  called.  Brother  Jameson  objected  to  the 
Bishop's  mode  of  putting  the  question,  and  replied  that  he 
would  remain  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Many  of  the  Missouri  preachers,  though  a  minority  of  the 
whole,  left  the  State  and  joined  other  Conferences  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Mr.  Bewley  utterly  refused  to  unite  with  the  Southern 
Church,  and  labored  in  South-Western  Missouri  from  1845 
to  1848,  working  with  his  own  hands  for  support,  and 
preaching  to  those  who  remained  in  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  as  he  had  opportunity.  Several  of  our  preachers 
labored  with  him  as  best  they  could.  Rev.  Mark  Robertson 
was  among  the  leading  associate  laborers  in  connection  with 
Mr.  Bewley,  and  traveled  the  Sarcoxie  circuit  for  three  suc- 
cessive years,  or  from  1845  to  1848. 

5.  At  the  dissolution  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  South-West  by  the  secession  of  the  great  body  of 
Methodists,  a  few  only  were  left  to  remain  by  the  prostrate 
altars  of  their  now  disrupted  Church. 

On  Spring  River,  Missouri,  a  convention  of  adherents  to 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  held  December  25, 
1845,  at  which  Mr.  Bewley  presided,  and  arrangements 
were  made,  in  the  best  way  they  could,  to  feed  the  scattered 
sheep  in  the  wilderness.  George  Sly,  David  Thompson,  and 
Joseph  Doughty  were  the  laborers  in  Missouri,  and  in  Ar- 
kansas there  were  Thomas  Norwood,  J.  K.  West,  and  James 
Hanen.  These,  and  Messrs.  Bewley  and  Robertson,  were 
the  principal  laborers. 

In  St.  Louis  there  was  a  remnant  left  who  declined  joining 


24  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

the  new  Southern  Church.  Indeed,  the  leading  laymen,  at 
first,  were  much  opposed  to  the  Southern  measure.  Rev. 
Joseph  Boyle  at  first  opposed  it,  and  called  in  our  office  at 
Cincinnati,  in  the  Fall  of  1845,  advising  opposition  to  it. 
He  also  visited  Bishop  Hamline,  then  in  Cincinnati,  for  the 
same  object.  But  at  the  Louisville  Convention,  in  May,  he 
was  fully  transformed,  and  became  Southern  from  that  time 
forth.  He  and  Rev.  Wesley  Browning,  both  from  the  North, 
became  leaders  in  urging  the  success  of  the  Southern  apos- 
tasy from  Methodism,  and  from  Scripture  as  well,  when  the 
thing  is  properly  considered. 

Rev.  Joseph  Tabor,  however,  a  local  preacher,  and  a, 
small  number  of  the  lay  members  remained  in  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church,  and  erected  their  small  church,  which 
they  significantly  called  Ebenezer;  and  this  small  beginning 
became  the  seed-bed  of  the  movement  in  1862,  which  pur- 
chased and  occupied  the  Union  Church,  at  the  corner  of 
Locust  and  Eleventh  streets,  a  full  notice  of  which  will 
appear  in  a  future  page. 

6.  In  1846  Rev.  Mark  Robertson  attended  a  camp  meet- 
ing in  Arkansas,  where  a  meeting  was  organized  in  which 
he  presided,  and  there  it  was  agreed  that  J.  K.  West  should 
have  the  Washington  circuit,  James  Hanen  the  Van  Buren 
circuit,   in   Arkansas.     Mr.   Bewley   was   appointed   to   the 
Springfield  circuit,  as  presiding  elder,  and  Mr.  Robertson 
was  on  the  Sarcoxie  circuit.     The  quarterly  conference  also 
chose  Mr.  Bewley  as  presiding  elder. 

7.  At  the  General  Conference  of  1848  the  Missouri  Con- 
ference of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  reorganized. 
The  Conference  had  decided  that  the  South  had  forfeited, 
by  their  unscriptural  course,  all   right  to   be  considered  a 
sound   branch  of  Methodism.     They  therefore  reorganized 
the  Church  in  the  South-West.     The  Conference  met  this 
year — September  13,  1848 — in  connection  with  the  Illinois 


OUR  CHURCH  IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST.  25 

Conference,  at  Belleville,  111.  There  were  found  1,538 
Church  members,  and  twenty-four  local  preachers.  There 
were  three  districts  formed,  manned  by  twenty  preachers, 
leaving  four  appointments  to  be  supplied.  One  district  was 
in  Arkansas,  over  which  was  Nelson  Henry,  presiding  elder. 

In  1848  Messrs.  Bewley  and  Robertson  attended  the  Illi- 
nois Conference,  and  were  recognized  members  of  the  Mis- 
souri Conference.  Mr.  Robertson  was  admitted  on  trial  and 
ordained  a  local  elder.  Mr.  Bewley  was  stationed  at  Wash- 
ington mission,  Arkansas,  and  seventy-five  dollars  were  ap- 
propriated for  him.  He  received  about  one  hundred  dollars 
from  the  people,  and  the  rest  of  his  support  was  provided 
by  the  labor  of  his  own  hands. 

Mr.  Robertson  was  appointed  to  the  Van  Buren  mission, 
Arkansas,  and  seventy-five  dollars  were  appropriated  for  him 
by  the  Missionary  Board.  He  received  about  the  value  of 
seventy-five  dollars  in  produce  on  his  mission,  and  the  rest 
of  his  support  was  furnished  by  his  own  manual  labor.  Mr. 
Bewley  had  to  travel  two  hundred  miles,  from  Dade  county, 
Mo.,  to  his  field  of  labor,  and  Mr.  Robertson  had  tx>  move 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  from  Jasper  county,  Mo.,  to 
Van  Buren,  in  Arkansas. 

Mr.  Bewley  arrived  in  September,  1848,  on  his  circuit, 
and  was  well  received.  He  had  a  very  good  camp  meeting. 
He  resided  six  miles  west  of  Fayetteville,  in  a  parsonage. 
This  was  some  fifty  miles  south  of  the  Missouri  line.  In 
his  labors  he  had  to  contend  with  the  Southern  Methodists, 
who  considered  him  and  his  associates  as  intruders  on  their 
proper  fields  of  labor. 

While  Mr.  Robertson  was  on  the  Neosho  circuit,  previous 
to  the  organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
Missouri,  in  1848,  a  curious  incident  took  place  in  that  re- 
gion. Rev.  Joseph  Woods,  a  Southern  Methodist  preacher 
on  the  Neosho  circuit,  in  a  speech  addressed  to  his  people 

3 


26  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

for  support,  said  that  he  had  eaten  up  a  negro  wench  during 
his  labors  among  them.  He  had  to  sell  her  in  order  to  buy 
tea,  coffee,  bread,  and  butter.  Rev.  Mr.  Robertson  was  re- 
duced to^a  somewhat  similar  necessity.  He  and  his  family 
had  to  eat  up  a  wagon  and  two  horses  in  order  to  subsist. 
There  was,  however,  this  difference  in  the  two  cases:  Mr. 
Wood  ate  up  the  property  of  another  person — for,  before 
God,  the  slave  woman  belonged  to  herself — but  Mr.  Robert- 
son expended  only  that  which  was  his  own,  namely,  the 
wagon  and  horses. 

Mr.  Robertson  traveled  the  Van  Buren  circuit  in  1848. 
He  had  thirty-five  members  who  had  been  collected  by  Mr. 
Hanen,  his  predecessor.  He  had  no  difficulties  but  with 
the  Southern  Methodists,  who  harassed  him  all  they  could. 

On  Van  Buren  circuit,  in  1848,  Mr.  Bewley  attended  Mr. 
Robertson's  quarterly  meeting,  in  the  absence  of  the  presid- 
ing elder,  Mr.  Henry.  Mr.  Bewley  preached  five  sermons 
at  the  meeting,  and  while  preaching  the  fifth  a  man  in  the 
congregation  rose  up  and  asked,  "Are  you  preaching  that 
sermon  to  me?"  To  this  Mr.  Bewley  replied,  "I  am  preach- 
ing to  the  congregation,  and  if  it  suits  you  receive  it."  The 
man's  mother  said,  "It  does  suit  him."  The  result  was 
that  this  man  joined  the  Church,  and  became  a  truly  relig- 
ious man. 

8.  The  Missouri  Conference  met  in  St.  Louis,  August  29, 
1849,  at  which  Bishop  Janes  presided.  Mr.  Bewley  was 
placed  on  Sarcoxie  circuit  this  year,  and  his  residence  was 
in  Bade  county,  Mo.  W.  J.  Markham,  his  colleague,  died 
during  the  year,  and  this  left  him  much  to  do;  nevertheless, 
much  prosperity  attended  his  labors. 

Mark  Robertson  was  appointed  this  year — 1849 — to  Bates- 
ville  mission. 

Bishop  Janes  at  this  Conference  instructed  Joseph  Tabor 
that,  if  any  letters  came  for  him  to  St.  Louis,  he  should 


OUR  CHURCH  IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST.  27 

open  them,  and  inform  him  as  to  the  contents.  After  the 
Bishop  had  left  St.  Louis  letters  came  to  the  city  from 
Batesville.  These  were  from  a  public  meeting  held  in  Bates- 
ville,  over  which  a  Southern  Methodist  presided,  warning 
the  Bishop  and  the  Missouri  Conference  not  to  send  another 
Methodist  preacher  North  to  Batesville,  and  declaring  if 
they  did  violence  must  follow,  and  they  must  account  for 
the  blood  shed.  The  brethren  in  St.  Louis  held  a  special 
prayer  meeting  to  intercede  for  the  preservation  of  Mr. 
Robertson. 

Batesville  is  on  White  River,  Independence  county.  Mr. 
Robertson  had  to  move  two  hundred  miles  this  year,  and 
did  not  learn  of  the  threat  till  he  had  reached  Batesville 
and  stopped  with  Robert  Williams.  Nothing  daunted,  how- 
ever, he  got  his  appointment  circulated,  and  preached  the 
first  Sabbath  to  a  large  congregation.  On  Monday  morning 
the  court  was  in  session,  and  encouraged  a  public  meeting, 
at  which  it  was  resolved  that  Mark  Robertson,  a  Northern 
Methodist  preacher,  should  leave  immediately — peaceably  if 
he  would,  forcibly  if  need  be.  But  Mr.  Robertson  declined 
to  obey,  and  his  persecutors  thought  it  best  to  let  the  mat- 
ter rest  there.  He  continued  to  preach  to  the  close  of  the 
year.  He  had  a  glorious  revival,  by  which  one  hundred 
and  thirty-two  were  added  to  the  Church  by  letter  or  pro- 
bation. He  had  about  one  hundred  at  the  beginning  of  the 
year,  and  at  the  close  of  the  year  he  had  two  hundred  and 
forty-six. 

Rev.  A.  J.  Crandall  labored  in  St.  Louis  this  year  with 
great  success,  and  built  up  a  prosperous  Church  at  Ebene- 
zer,  leaving  the  names  of  three  hundred  and  twenty-one 
members  on  the  Church  records. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1849  the  statistics  gave  an  in- 
crease of  1,901,  making,  in  all,  3,463  members. 

9.  The  year  1850  commenced  in  the  Missouri  Conference 


28  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

with  quite  an  increase  of  members  and  preachers.  There 
were  five  districts,  manned  with  thirty-five  preachers  sta- 
tioned, and  fourteen  places  to  be  supplied,  making,  in  all, 
forty-nine  preachers,  as  the  vacancies  were  all  supplied  by 
the"  presiding  elders  with  local  preachers. 

The  Conference  met  this  year  at  Pleasant  Green,  Cooper 
county,  Mo.,  August  28th,  Bishop  Hamline  presiding. 

Mr.  Bewley  was  this  year  appointed  to  Springfield  mis- 
sion. He  resided  at  Ebenezer,  ten  miles  north  of  Spring- 
field, for  the  sake  of  schooling  his  children  at  an  academy 
there  under  the  supervision  of  the  Southern  Methodists.  As 
among  the  first  persecutions  visited  upon  our  people,  we  may 
mention  the  proceedings  of  a  meeting  held  in  Green  county, 
Mo.,  where  the  school  was  located.  The  account  of  the 
meeting  was  headed,  "Proceedings  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
South-Western  High-School,  at  Ebenezer,  on  the  second  day 
of  October,  1850." 

Here  are  two  of  the  resolutions: 

"Resolved,  That  Anthony  Bewley  shall  not  be  allowed  to 
preach  on  said  forty  acres  of  land. 

"Resolved,  That  Rev.  A.  H.  Matthews  shall  not  permit 
the  children  of  Anthony  Bewley  to  attend  the  South- West- 
ern High-School  till  a  meeting  of  the  curators  and  a  decis- 
ion be  made  thereon." 

This  last  resolution  served  as  a  precedent  for  the  Missouri 
Legislature,  at  a  future  day,  to  refuse  charters  for  "Jackson 
Seminary"  and  "Jefferson  City  University,"  as  these  were 
institutions  under  the  patronage  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  But  Mr.  Bewley,  though  unceasingly  persecuted, 
was  too  brave  a  man  to  ever  leave  the  South-West.  He 
bore  it  all,  and  as  a  minister  in  a  law-abiding  Church,  he 
traveled  and  preached  wherever  he  was  appointed. 

Mr.  Bewley  went  to  see  the  teacher,  and  wished  him  to 
treat  his  children  as  the  others  were  treated.  The  teacher 


OUR  CHURCH  IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST.  29 

agreed  to  this,  for  the  present,  and  the  matter  ended  there 
for  the  time.  At  this  period  they  were  not  just  prepared  to 
carry  out  their  own  resolves,  as  they  did  subsequently. 

The  following  incidents  will  show  the  outside  influences 
that  pressed  on  Mr.  Bewley.  His  presiding  elder,  Mr.  Bird, 
preached  at  Mr.  Bewley's  house  while  he  resided  at  Ebene- 
zcr.  Mrs.  Bewley  had  two  sisters  residing  in  the  place,  but 
they  declined  going  to  their  sister's  house  to  hear  Mr.  Bird 
preach,  though  invited  by  Mrs.  Bewley.  At  Derrick's  ap- 
pointment, this  year,  some  hundred  persons  signed  a  paper 
urging  him  to  cease  preaching  at  that  place.  When  they 
presented  the  paper  he  said  that  he  had  dreamed  about  such 
a  paper  the  night  before,  and  declared  that  he  considered 
the  paper  of  no  importance.  They  then  jerked  it  from  him, 
and  there  the  matter  ended  for  the  time. 

Mr.  Robertson,  on  Batesville  mission,  had,  during  the 
year,  an  increase  of  one  hundred  and  one  members,  despite 
the  constantly  chilling  and  threatening  bearing  of  Southern 
Methodists  toward  him  and  his  cause. 

At  the  close  of  this  Conference  year  there  was  an  increase 
of  1,868  members  in  the  Missouri  Conference. 

10.  The  Missouri  Conference  sat  in  Hannibal,  Mo.,  Au- 
gust 27,  1851,  Bishop  Waugh  presiding,  and  L.  B.  Dennis 
being  Secretary.  Mr.  Bewley  was  on  Springfield  mission. 
His  family  residence  was  four  miles  north-east  of  Spring- 
field, where  he  resided  four  years,  or  till  he  removed  to 
Texas. 

Mr.  Robertson  was  on  Greenbriar  mission  this  year,  six 
miles  from  Batesville.  At  his  first  appointment  a  mob  en- 
deavored to  break  up  his  meeting  by  throwing  stones  on  the 
house  while  he  was  preaching  on  the  judgment.  Five  young 
men  went  out  after  the  miscreants,  and  pursued  them  half 
a  mile.  Nevertheless,  two  or  three  were  converted  that 
night  and  added  to  the  Church.  The  additions  for  the 


30  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

year  numbered  sixty-one.  The  increase  in  the  Conference 
this  year  was  only  two  hundred  and  seventy-seven. 

11.  In  1852 -the  Arkansas  Conference  was  formed,  and 
the  Missouri  and  Arkansas  Conferences  met  together  in  St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  October  7th,  Bishop  Janes  presiding. 

Mr.  Bewley  was  this  year  on  Osage  mission,  Arkansas 
Conference,  within  the  bounds  of  Batesville  district,  over 
which  Mark  Robertson  presided. 

The  Batesville  district  embraced  all  South-Western  Mis- 
souri, reaching  among  the  Ozark  Mountains.  In  Arkansas 
it  embraced  the  counties  of  Marion,  Carrol,  Izzard,  Inde- 
pendence, Van  Buren,  Sebastian,  etc.  The  town  of  Bates- 
ville, on  White  River,  and  Fort  Smith,  on  the  Arkansas 
River,  were  on  this  district.  Mr.  Robertson  now  had  to 
meet  the  subject  of  political  secession,  as  well  as  ecclesias- 
tical schism.  Rev.  John  Cook,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  South,  maintained  that  our  political  union  failed  to 
answer  the  object  of  its  establishment  by  Divine  providence, 
and  that  it  would  be  cut  down  as  a  cumberer  of  the  ground, 
and  two  new  ones  would  be  planted  in  its  place.  We  had 
the  Church  North  and  the  Church  South;  so  it  would  be, 
Mr.  Cook  maintained,  in  the  civil  condition  of  the  United 
States.  This  was  a  manifest  indication  that"  the  elements  of 
secession  were  then  in-  existence  in  the  South. 

Mr.  Robertson  preached  a  corresponding  sermon  on  the 
text,  "Cut  it  down;  why  cumbereth  it  the  ground?"  in  an- 
swer to  a  Mr.  Wood.  He  contended  that  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  was  not  cut  down,  and  gave  statistics  and 
arguments  to  prove  his  points.  Mr.  Robertson  resided  at 
Batesville  six  years,  or  till  1854. 

The  year  1852  presented  to  the  Church  at  large  such  en- 
couragement as  to  induce  the  organization  of  the  Arkansas 
Conference.  Yet  the  work  of  driving  our  Church  from 
the  South-West  had  already  been  conceived.  Most  of  its 


OUR  CHURCH  IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST.  31 

preliminaries  were  arranged  in  purposes  which  afterward 
culminated  in  the  mobocratic  attack  on  the  Arkansas  Con- 
ference, in  1859,  and  in  various  murders,  as  well  as  the  ex- 
pulsion of  many  thousands  of  the  Methodist  and  Free  soil 
population  by  pro-slavery  men,  and  especially  by  Southern 
Methodists.  The  increase  in  the  South-West  this  year  was 
only  two  hundred  and  three,  which  presaged  the  dispersion 
of  our  people  in  the  succeeding  years,  till  our  Church  was 
nearly  extinct  in  this  region. 

12.  The  Arkansas  Conference  met  at  Fayetteville,  Wash- 
ington county,  Ark.,  October  26,  1853,  Bishop  Morris  pre- 
siding. Mr.  Bewley  labored  this  year  on  the  Springfield 
Mission  district,  while  Mr.  Robertson  was  on  the  Batesville 
Mission  district.  He  had  much  hard  work,  but  also  numer- 
ous conversions.  The  influence  of  the  pro-slavery  party, 
however,  was  increasingly  pressing  against  him,  urged  on  by 
the  members  and  preachers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  South.  A  Mr.  Cochran,  editor  of  the  Batesville 
Eagle,  published  Mr.  Robertson  as  an  abolitionist,  and  as, 
therefore,  engaged  in  the  underground  railroad  business,  of 
enticing  and  aiding  slaves  to  run  away  from  their  masters. 
He  refused  to  allow  Mr.  Robertson  the  privilege  of  correct- 
ing the  misrepresentation  in  the  columns  of  the  Eagle.  Mr. 
Robertson,  on  this  refusal,  took  the  Eagle  to  his  meetings, 
read  the  misrepresentations  and  confuted  them  in  public, 
in  the  presence  of  great  multitudes.  The  enraged  editor 
threatened  to  whip  Mr.  Robertson.  Shortly  after,  both  hap- 
pened to  meet  in  a  store,  and  Mr.  Robertson  broached  the 
subject,  and  informed  the  editor  that  he  would  not  submit 
to  any  such  treatment,  from  him  or  any  other  man.  The 
editor  was  satisfied  to  decline  any  further  attack,  by  pen  or 
otherwise.  But  his  evil  course  seemed  to  follow  him  with 
its  penalties,  for  he  was  sold  out,  lost  his  press,  and,  when 
last  heard  from,  was  employed  as  a  day-laborer. 


32  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

In  St.  Louis  the  crushing  influence  arrayed  against  our 
cause  was  felt  severely,  so  that  Ebenezer  and  Mound  mis- 
sions had  only  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  members,  all  told, 
and  the  increase  for  the  year  in  the  South-West  amounted 
only  to  two  hundred  and  fifteen. 

In  "Missouri  the  pro-slavery  rage,  with  great  violence,  be- 
gan the  work  of  murder.  Rev.  Charles  Holliday  Kelly  was 
the  martyr  after  whose  blood  they  thirsted.  Mr.  Kelly  was 
a  young  man  of  great  promise,  but  of  feeble  constitution 
and  health.  While  holding  a  quarterly  meeting  for  Cham- 
bersburg  mission,  on  Saturday  and  Sunday,  February  12th 
and  13th,  1853,  at  the  close  of  the  eleven  o'clock  service  on 
Sabbath  morning,  a  rough-looking  man  calling  himself  Tra- 
bue  came  to  the  stand  and  entered  into  conversation  with 
Mr.  Kelly,  in  which  he  expressed  a  wish  to  have  him  preach 
in  his  neighborhood,  and,  at  the  same  time,  laying  his  hand 
on  Mr.  Kelly,  said,  "You  are  my  prisoner."  Rev.  J.  H. 
Dennis,  who  was  present,  stepped  forward  and  asked  what  he 
meant  by  such  conduct  in  a  place  of  worship.  He  immedi- 
ately drew  a  Colt's  revolver,  and  cried  out,  "Hands  off," 
falsely  calling  himself  Marshal  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  and 
ordering  his  associates  to  tie  Mr.  Kelly's  hands,  threatening 
to  blow  a  ball  through  any  man  that  interfered,  and,  snap- 
ping his  revolver,  cried  out,  "Stand  back;  half  of  this  house 
is  mine."  After  Mr.  Kelly's  hands  had  been  tied,  and  his 
feet  had  been  made  secure  by  a  chain  and  padlock,  he  asked 
Trabue  if  he  would  permit  him  to  ask  one  question.  To 
this  Trabue  roughly  answered,  "Shut  your  mouth,  or  I  will 
blow  al>all  through  you  in  an  instant." 

They  then  placed  Mr.  Kelly  on  a  rough-gaited  lame 
horse,  and  started  for  Fort  Madison.  Iowa,  the  seat  of  the 
State  prison,  not  allowing  him  to  put  on  an  overcoat,  gloves, 
or  wrapper.  An  unusually  cold  north-west  wind  was  blow- 
ing at  the  time.  Mr.  Dennis  followed  after,  and,  with  much 


OUR  CHURCH  IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST.  33 

ado,  prevailed  on  his  captors  to  allow  him  to  put  on  his 
gloves  and  overclothes.  He  was  at  this  time  almost  ready 
to  sink  from  exposure  and  exhaustion.  They  stopped  at 
Farmington,  and  obtained  there  a  two-horse  wagon,  and 
then  proceeded  to  their  destination.  At  Fort  Madison  he 
was  placed  in  the  Eagle  Hotel,  still  in  chains.  When 
morning  came  some  of  the  officers  of  the  penitentiary  were 
brought  to  see  him,  to  ascertain  if  he  were  the  Charles  F. 
Kelly  who  had  escaped  from  the  prison,  and  whom  Trabue 
pretended  to  be  after.  No  sooner  did  they  see  Mr.  Kelly 
than  they  declared,  "He  is  not  the,  man."  From  the  time 
of  his  release  he  lingered  till  the  17th  of  September,  1853, 
when  he  breathed  his  last,  in  consequence  of  the  barbarous 
severities  and  exposure  of  this  farcical  arrest.  Charles  F. 
Kelly  had  escaped  the  Iowa  State  Prison.  This  man's 
name  was  Charles  H.  Kelly.  This  partial  coincidence  in 
name,  since  the  latter  was  a  talented  minister  of  the  hated 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  furnished  pretext  for  his  ar- 
rest. Arrest  and  return  without  forms  of  law  afforded  an 
occasion  for  violence  and  slow  murder  easily  explained  and 
excused  by  prejudice-inspired  fabrications.  Mr.  Kelly's 
death  being  the  real  object  of  their  endeavors,  and  having 
no  thought  of  his  really  being  identified  as  the  escaped 
convict,  it  became  the  more  necessary  to  the  desired  end 
that  their  treatment  should  wound  him  beyond  recovery. 

Thus  those  frenzied,  lean,  and  hungry  loons,  lying  at  the 
gates  of  slaveocrats,  and  at  their  hiss  hunting  down  and 
destroying  the  just,  leaped  upon  their  victim  in  the  public 
sanctuary,  and,  beast-like,  worried  him  till  he  fell,  fainting 
and  dying,  at  the  prison  gates,  only  regretting,  as  they 
turned  away,  that  they  could  not  make  him  die  inside  the 
walls,  with  a  convict's  stigma  upon  him. 

But,  though  God  suffered  his  servant  to  be  promoted  to 
martyrdom  through  the  madness  of  his  foes,  he  took  care 


34  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

they  should  not  blot  his  name  with  even  temporary  dis- 
honor. They  had  "killed  the  body,"  but  there  was  no 
more  they  could  do.  Martyred  saint!  Rather  let  me  share 
thy  sufferings  than  the  retributions  of  thy  destroyers  when 
God's  vengeance  shall  be  waking. 

13.  The  Arkansas  Conference  was  held,  in  1854,  at 
Peugh's  Chapel,  Sebastian  county,  Ark.,  November  2d, 
Bishop  Ames  presiding.  Mr.  Bewley  was  still  on  the 
Springfield1  Mission  district.  He  and  Rev.  S.  H.  Caflile 
had  a  public  debate  with  two  Campbellite  preachers.  On 
the  second  day  of  the  debate  one  of  the  Campbellite  preach- 
ers left  the  ground  on  the  score  that  his  side  was  defeated. 
On  the  third  day  the  Campbellites  made  up  their  lack  of 
argument  by  pronouncing  Messrs.  Bewley  and  Carlile  aboli- 
tionists. This  was  resorted  to  as  the  last  mode  of  defense 
for  a  defeated  party.  The  vile  sophistry,  of  course,  had 
its  effect;  for  at  this  time,  in  Arkansas,  such  a  charge  was 
considered  an  overwhelming  argument  to  confute  any  thing 
maintained  by  a  person  representing  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church.  Members  of  this  Church  were  regarded  as 
identical  with  the  most  vicious  men,  and  it  was  believed  to 
be  their  chief  work,  to  entice  slaves  to  run  away  from  their 
masters.  Yet  nothing  could  be  more  false,  for  neither  mem- 
bers nor  preachers  ever  had  recourse  to  this,  much  as  they 
hated  slavery  and  detested  the  practice  under  the  Fugitive 
Slave  law.  But  the  mad-dog  cry,  once  uttered  against  a 
man,  was  caught  up  and  sounded  around  till,  in  the  popu- 
lar clamor,  there  was  no  hearing  for  reason  and  truth. 

Mr.  Robertson  was  yet  on  the  Batesville  Mission  district. 
It  then  became  the  policy  of  Southern  Methodists  to  rep- 
resent that  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  had  no  right 
to  plant  themselves  in  the  South.  Rev.  John  Cole  was  the 
presiding  elder  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South 
in  that  region.  Mr.  Cole  was  an  Englishman,  had  belonged 


OUR  CHURCH  IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST.  35 

to  the  Indiana  Conference,  but  so  apostatized  from  the  prin- 
ciples of  Wesley  and  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
as  to  become  a  public  supporter  of  slavery.  Mr.  Cole  gave 
out  publicly  that  in  two  weeks  he  would  show  that  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  North,  was  an  abolition  Church, 
and  had  no  right  to  an  organization  in  the  South.  On  the 
day  appointed  he  employed  three  hours  with  his  documents 
to  make  this  appear  to  three  thousand  people. 

Mr.  Robertson  listened  patiently  during  the  whole  per- 
formance, at  the  close  of  which  the  audience  was  hurriedly 
dismissed  with  the  benediction,  so  as  to  cut  off  any  response. 
But  Mr.  Robertson  called  the  attention  of  the  people  to  the 
consideration  that  Mr.  Cole  was  an  Englishman,  had  also 
taken  lessons  among  the  Yankees,  and,  seeing  that  he  was 
a  turn-coat,  and  probably  not  sincere  in  his  present  decla- 
rations, he  might  justly  be  regarded  as  the  most  dangerous 
of  the  abolition  ranks.  This  retort  in  the  place  of  argu- 
ment was  answering  a  fool  according  to  his  folly,  but  it  had 
the  desired  effect.  The  people  dispersed  quietly,  and  were 
very  well  pleased  with  the  reply. 

Mr.  Robertson  had  several  good  camp  meetings  this  year, 
and  general  prosperity,  although  there  was  no  general  in- 
crease. The  reason  was  that  many  of  our  members  removed 
from  these  localities.  They  saw  no  prospect  of  enjoying 
their  religious  or  civil  rights  in  Arkansas  or  Texas,  and, 
like  the  Pilgrim  fathers,  they  emigrated  in  order  to  secure 
their  inalienable  rights.  By  this  means  only  remnants  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  were  left  in  the  south- 
western slave  States.  Our  people  were  constantly  harassed 
with  persecutions  and  annoyances  on  account  of  their  relig- 
ious sentiments  and  associations.  Thus,  at  this  time,  many 
of  our  people  wenif  to  California,  Oregon,  and  Kansas,  or 
returned  to  the  old  States  from  whence  they  came;  and 
this  stampede  was  only  the  beginning  of  what  ended,  a  few 


36  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

years  after,  in  an  almost  total  emigration  of  our  people  from 
Arkansas  and  Texas. 

The  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  that  passed  Congress  in  1854, 
became  the  occasion  of  developing  sentiments  that  were 
then  entertained  by  many  in  the  North,  as  well  as  in  the 
South.  The  purport  of  the  bill  was  to  revoke  the  Missouri 
Compromise,  made  in  1820,  by  which  it  was  guaranteed 
that  north  of  thirty-six  degrees  and  thirty  minutes  there 
should  be  no  slavery  in  the  territory  formerly  called  Lou- 
isiana west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  Missouri  excepted. 
This  excluded  slavery  from  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  But 
the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  did  away  with  this  compromise. 

In  consequence  of  some  Church  members  being  forced, 
by  arbitrary  slave  laws,  to  become  slaveholders,  although 
without  their  act,  will,  or  deed,  vehement  objections  were 
made  by  some  against  making  any  missionary  appropria- 
tions in  behalf  of  Missouri,  Arkansas,  and  Texas.  The  prin- 
cipal objector  was  Mr.  Hosmer,  of  the  Northern  Advocate. 
In  his  issue  of  April  19,  1854,  in  an  article  headed,  "The 
Methodist  Missionary  Society  and  Slavery,"  he  assailed  ve- 
hemently the  Missionary  Society  for  making  missionary  ap- 
propriations for  Southern  territory,  as  this  tended  to  support 
slavery,  and  the  outcry,  "stop  the  supplies,"  became  the 
watchword  of  Mr.  Hosmer  and  others  of  like  sentiments. 
The  Missionary  Board  appointed  Dr.  Durbin,  Dr.  Carlton, 
and  F.  Hall  to  reply  to  these  and  similar  allegations,  a  task 
they  performed  with  great  ability  and  complete  success,  si- 
lencing the  objectors. 

This  opposition  to  our  suffering  brethren  in  the  South- 
West  was  the  "unkindest  cut  of  all,"  inasmuch  as  the 
preachers  in  that  quarter  were  the  most  deserving  laborers 
in  the  whole  missionary  field.  It  was  hard,  indeed,  to  be 
hunted  and  persecuted  because  they  were  antislavery  and 
abolitionists  of  the  strongest  type,  and  at  the  same  time 


OUR  CHURCH  IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST.  37 

to  be  branded  by  the  friends  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  as  unworthy  of  support. 

The  Southern  Methodists,  at  this  time,  were  rapidly  ad- 
vancing in  pro-slavery  doctrines.  This  was  manifest  from 
the  acts  of  their  General  Conference,  in  May,  1854.  For 
the  extirpation  of  the  General  Rule  on  slavery  there  were 
sixty-five  votes,  and  forty-three  against  it.  But  on  the  fol- 
lowing, perversion  of  that  rule  there  were  ninety-eight  yeas, 
and  only  ten  nays: 

"Resolved,  That  the  General  Rule  in  the  Book  of  Disci- 
pline on  the  buying  and  selling  of  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, with  an  intention  to  enslave  them,  is  understood  as 
referring  exclusively  to  the  slave-trade  as  prohibited  by 
the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States." 

In  connection  with  this  moral  heresy  they  excluded  from 
their  Discipline  the  entire  chapter  against  slavery. 

At  this  Conference  Dr.  Smith  delivered  to  the  citizens  of 
the  place  an  address  which  was  eulogized  by  the  Southern 
papers  as  a  most  masterly  defense  of  the  South  and  her  in- 
stitutions. He  argued  that  slavery  was  right,  both  in  the 
abstract  and  in  the  concrete  He  ridiculed  the  idea  that 
"all  men  were  created  free."  We  remember  more  than 
once  to  have  heard  Dr.  Smith  contending  that  slavery  jvas 
wrong  in  the  abstract  and  right  in  the  concrete. 

The  fact  is,  at  this  time  the  Southern  Methodists  were 
rapidly  advancing  to  the  sentiment  that  slavery  was  right 
and  holy ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  it  was  right  to  steal,  rob, 
commit  adultery,  and  oppress  the  weak  and  innocent.  Hear 
the  following,  from  the  Memphis  Advocate,  written  about 
this  time: 

"What  is  slavery?  It  is  the  providential  relation  which 
one  man  stands  in  to  another  as  master  and  servant.  Is 
this  providential  relation  a  sin?  No,  it  is  not;  the  sin  is 
not  in  the  providential  relation,  but  in  the  abuse  of  that 


38  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

relation.  There  are  marly  other  providential  relations  which 
are  not  sinful  till  they  are  abused,  when  they  become  evil. 
The  rich  and  the  poor,  the  wise  and  the  ignorant,  the  cap- 
italist and  laborer,  the  landlord  and  tenant,  the  master  and 
apprentice,  lawyer  and  client,  preacher  arid  people,  husband 
and  wife,  parent  and  child,  all  these  are  providential  rela- 
tions, and  all  may  be  and  have  been  abused,  and  thus  be- 
come sinful  and  evil.  As  to  the  providential  relation  of 
master  and  servant,  as  it  exists  in  the  South,  it  is,  next  to 
husband  and  wife,  the  most  sacred.  A  mysterious  Provi- 
dence has  placed  one  race  of  men  of  a  different  color  and 
of  peculiar  instincts  under  the  control  and  command  of 
another  race  of  superior  intelligence  and  foresight.  The 
former,  as  a  race,  have  always  been  wild,  savage,  lawless, 
improvident,  and  uncivilized.  The  latter  are  civilized,  organ- 
ized into  government,  and  live  under  religious  and  political 
institutions.  These  two  races  of  men  form  the  population 
of  the  Southern  States.  They  sustain  to  each  other  the  re- 
lation of  master  and  servant,  and  woe  be  to  the  powers  or 
combined  influences  that  aim,  by  undue  "means,  to  sever  this 
relation  till  the  same  mysterious  Providence  that  permitted 
it  interposes,  by  unmistakable  signs,  to  abolish  it." 1 

The  foregoing  shows  how  much  the  moral  views  of  slav- 
ery had  corrupted  the  Southern  Methodist  press.  The  acts 
of  their  General  Conference  of  1854  are  of  the  same  char- 
acter, and  this  was  preparatory  to  the  act  of  1858,  which 
excluded  the  General  Rule;  and  this  last  step  prepared  the 
way  for  the  monstrosity  which  taught  that  the  Scriptures 
support  slavery.  Thus  step  after  step  was  taken  in  the 
moral  descent  till  it  was  practically  conceded  to  be  right 
to  murder  Bewley  and  others,  and  to  drive  citizens  from 
Texas,  Arkansas,  and  Missouri  because  they  were  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  It  may  be  asked,  with 

'See  Western  Christian  Advocate,  vol.  xxi,  p.  100. 


OUR  CHURCH  IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST.  39 

surprise,  "Is  thy  servant  a  dog,  that  he  should  do  such 
things?"  And  yet  history  proves  that  it  has  been  even  so. 

14.  The  persecution  of  Rev.  William  Sellers,  while  trav- 
eling the  Lagrange  circuit,  will  show  the  growing  hostil- 
ity to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Missouri  among 
all  classes  of  pro-slavery  men.  In  the  Fall  or  early  Win- 
ter of  1853  fifteen  slaves  made  their  escape  from  Fabius 
township,  Marion  county,  Mo.,  and  proceeded  to  Canada. 
This  produced  so  great  a  sensation  among  the  slaveholders 
that  they  formed  an  association  for  self-protection.  On  the 
24th  of  December,  1853,  Thomas  L.  Anderson  made  a 
speech  in  which  he  urged  the  necessity  of  attending  to  the 
"fanatics."  Shortly  after,  the  Marion  county  association 
sent  a  committee  of  five  to  wait  on  Rev.  Mr.  Sellers,  to  as- 
certain his  views.  Mr.  Sellers  declared,  as  well  he  might, 
that  he  had  no  connection  with  those  who  had  aided  the 
fugitives.  Rev.  J.  H.  Dennis,  presiding  elder,  met  the  men 
of  Fabius  township  February  18th,  and  explained  the  prin- 
ciples and  course  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  A 
Colonel  Ben.  Davis,  who  was  formerly  a  member  of  the  Bal- 
timore Conference,  acted  as  attorney  for  the  association,  and 
stated  that  the  Northern  Methodist  preachers  in  Missouri 
were  abolitionists,  that  Jacob  Gruber  was  one,  and  that  some 
of  them  carried  Benton's  Free-soil  speeches  in  their  pockets. 
Such  were  the  allegations. 

Two  public  meetings  were  held  by  the  citizens  of  Fabius 
township,  Marion  county,  Mo.,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
out  a  scheme  to  expel  Rev.  Mr.  Sellers  from  the  country. 
At  the  meeting  of  February  4th,  committees  were  appointed. 
At  that  of  February  18,  1854,  the  following  preamble  and 
resolutions  were  adopted  by  the  meeting  unanimously: 

"  Whereas,  but  a  short  time  since  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  was  divided  into  'Northern'  and  'Southern' 


40  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

divisions;  and,  whereas,  this  division  was  created  solely  by 
a  difference  of  opinion  among  the  clergy  upon  the  subject 
of  slavery,  the  clergy  of  the  North  taking  decided  ground 
against  that  peculiar  institution;  and,  whereas,  there  is  in 
our  community  considerable  excitement,  arising  from  the 
belief,  upon  the  part  of  many  of  our  citizens,  that  the  min- 
isters of  the  Northern  division  of  said  Church,  who  have 
for  some  time  past  been  preaching  in  Fabius  township,  are 
the  representatives  of  a  body  whose  sentiments  upon  the 
subject  of  slavery  are  decidedly  hostile  to  our  interests  as 
slaveholders,  and  dangerous  to  our  peace,  and  that  the  lead- 
ing object  of  their  mission  here  is  the  destruction  of  slavery 
by  the  propagation,  in  any  manner  not  inconsistent  with 
the  safety  of  their  persons,  of  doctrines  calculated  to  array 
against  the  institution  the  weak-minded  and  fanatical  among 
us,  and  to  create  discontent,  dissatisfaction,  and  insubordina- 
tion among  our  slaves;  be  it,  therefore, 

"1.  Resolved,  That  the  peace  and  best  interests  of  this 
community  require  that  the  said  ministers,  from  this  time 
and  forever  hereafter,  desist  from  visiting  and  preaching 
among  us. 

"  2.  That  we  regard  it  as  a  sacred  duty  we  owe  ourselves 
and  our  country  to  take,  and  that  we  do  now  take,  high, 
firm,  and  positive  ground,  never  to  be  abandoned,  against 
all  abolition  influences,  no  matter  whence  they  emanate,  and 
that  we  now  solemnly  declare  that,  while  we  shall  ever  be 
willing  to  seek  and  glad  to  receive  at  the  hands  of  the  law 
protection  from  existing  ills,  yet,  when  the  law  fails  to  pro- 
tect, we  claim  to  have  the  natural  right,  as  a  community,  to 
resort  to  the  use  of  such  means  as  will  afford  us  protection 

"  3.  That  the  fanatics  of  the  North  have  forced  the  ques- 
tion of  slavery  into  all  the  Churches,  and,  by  their  effort  to 
rule  or  ruin  all  who  refuse  to  join  them  in  their  unholy  cru- 
sade upon  our  rights,  the  division  of  the  original  Methodist 


OUR  CHURCH  IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST.  41 

Episcopal  Church  was  created,  the  only  point  of  difference 
between  the  two  wings  being  the  subject  of  slavery,  the 
Southern  wing  claiming,  under  the  constitutions  and  laws 
of  the  slave  States,  as  well  as  the  Constitution  and  laws  of 
the  United  States,  the  right  to  hold  slaves,  and  to  regulate 
all  their  own  domestic  affairs,  while  the  Northern  wing  de- 
clared slavery  a  great  moral  evil,  and  sinful  in  the  sight  of 
God  and  man,  and  that  there  is  a  law  higher  than  the  Con- 
stitution and  the  laws  of  the  land  authorizing  them  to  destroy 
the  institution  of  slavery,  and  for  this  purpose  to  send  their 
emissaries,  upon  every  pretext  and  under  all  sorts  of  covers, 
into  every  portion  of  the  slave  States. 

"4.  That,  as  the  tenets  and  Discipline  of  the  two  wings  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  are  identically  the  same, 
the  ministers  of  the  Northern  wing  can  do  no  good  here, 
but  great  harm,  and  that,  with  all  due  respect  for  the  right 
of  religious  toleration  as  furnished  and  protected  by  the 
Constitution  and  laws  of  our  country,  we,  the  citizens  of 
Fabiusvand  adjoining  townships,  do  solemnly  protest  against 
the  practice  of  the  said  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  North, 
in  sending  ministers  among  us,  and  we  respectfully  re- 
quest such  ministers  to  make  no  more  appointments  in 
this  vicinity. 

"5.  That,  as  we  are  situated  contiguous  to  Quincy,  a  city 
containing  some  of  the  vilest  abolition  thieves  in  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley,  and,  as  we  have  already  suffered  so  much  at 
the  hands  of  those  incendiaries,  we  regard  it  absolutely 
necessary  to  the  protection  of  our  slave  interest  that  we 
close  our  doors  against  abolition  and  Free-soil  influences 
of  every  character  and  shade,  and  that  we  shall,  therefore, 
esteem  it  highly  improper  for  any  citizen  hereafter  to  coun- 
tenance or  encourage  the  preaching  or  teaching  in  this  com- 
munity of  any  other  minister  or  ministers,  person  or  per- 
sons, the  representatives  of  or  in  any  way  connected  with 

4 


42  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

any  Church  or  Churches,  any  association  or  society,  whether 
religious  or  political,  or  of  any  character  whatsoever,  who 
have  heretofore  or  shall  hereafter  take  ground,  directly  or 
indirectly,  expressly  or  impliedly,  against  the  institution  of 
slavery." 

This  preamble  and  resolutions  go  to  say  that  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  was  considered,  at  this  period,  as 
intolerable  in  Missouri,  and  these  resolutions  show  the  heart 
of  slavery;  for,  when  there  was  no  law  to  justify  their  con- 
duct, they  assumed  supreme  control  over  all  law,  truth,  and 
justice  in  order  to  maintain  the  slave  system.  The  resolu- 
tions, however,  speak  for  themselves,  and  need  no  expo- 
sition to  show  their  barbarous  and  despotic  character,  as 
well  as  their  special  hostility  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

The  quarterly  conference  of  Hannibal  station,  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  shortly  after  the  Fabius  town- 
ship affair,  passed  unanimously  the  following  resolutions : 

"1.  That  the  proceedings  of  the  citizens  of  Fabius  town- 
ship against  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  a  base 
persecution,  and  can  not  be  regarded  by  an  intelligent 
community  in  any  other  light  than  an  attempt  to  proscribe 
their  fellow-citizens  for  opinion's  sake;  and  not  only  so, 
but  we  regard  it  as  an  attempt  to  hunt  up  the  opinions 
of  their  fellow-citizens  in  order  that  they  may  have  some 
shadow  of  a  reason  for  attempting  to  crush  the  rights  of 
thought  and  the  rights  of  speech. 

"2.  That,  while  we  regard  the  system  of  slavery  as  a 
great  moral,  social,  and  political  evil,  we  do  heartily  protest 
against  any  attempt,  directly  or  indirectly,  at  producing  in- 
subordination among  slaves;  and,  furthermore,  we  do  regard 
with  fidelity  the  rights  of  slave-owners  to  property  in  their 
slaves,  and  declare  that  it  would  be  inconsistent  with  our 
duty  as  Christians  and  loyal  citizens  to  dispossess  them  of 


OUR  CHURCH  IN  THE  SOUTH-WEST.  43 

their  rights;  and,  furthermore,  we  do  heartily  condemn 
what  is  usually  termed  the  underground  railroad  operation, 
and  all  other  systems  of  negro  stealing. 

"3.  That  our  opposers  of  Fabius  township  have  failed — 
utterly  failed — to  produce  any  evidence  of  guilt  against  the 
Church,  or  any  individual  member  of  the  Church.  We  ap- 
peal to  the  justice  of  enlightened  public  opinion  for  redress 
for  our  wrongs,  and  for  a  just  condemnation  of  all  such  at- 
tempts to  gag  men  for  fear  that  they  will  dare  to  speak  their 
sentiments  on  a  great  moral  and  political  subject. 

"  4.  That,  as  citizens  of  Missouri,  and  as  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  we  regard  it  as  a  sacred  duty  we  owe  our- 
selves and  country,  to  take,  and  that  we  do  now  take,  high, 
firm,  and  positive  ground,  never  to  be  abandoned,  against  all 
such  attempts  to  destroy  the  liberties  which  our  fathers 
have  transmitted  to  us — the  religious  and  political  liberties 
which  we  claim  in  common  with  other  citizens,  and  espe- 
cially the  liberty  of  worshiping  God  according  to  the  dic- 
tates of  our  own  consciences." 

15.  Just  after  the  persecution  of  Sellers,  and  others  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Missouri,  Rev.  H.  C. 
Atwater,  of  the  Providence  Conference,  Phoenix,  R.  I., 
wrote  two  letters  to  the  Missouri  Courier,  a  pro-slavery 
sheet  published  in  Hannibal,  Mo.,  the  one  dated  June  17th, 
and  the  other  October  21st,  in  which  he  aided  the  pro- 
slavery  party  in  their  work  of  persecution  by  denouncing 
our  preachers  in  Missouri  as  untrue  to  right  principles,  and 
urging  that  no  more  missionary  supplies  should  be  fur- 
nished to  the  Missouri  and  Arkansas  Conferences,  till  they 
should  become  abolitionists  of  his  own  stamp ;  and  he 
seems  to  have  been  among  the  most  ultra  of  the  Garri- 
sonian  school.  He  was  met  in  his  attacks  on  the  Missouri 
Conference  by  Rev.  N.  Shumate.  Mr.  Atwater  seems  to 
have  been  an  earnest  antislavery  man,  who  did  not  consider 


44  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

the  subject  in  any  other  than  an  entirely  impracticable 
light,  and  did  great  injustice  to  the  brethren  on  the  south- 
western border.2 

The  term  abolitionist  at  this  time  was  very  equivocal. 
In  the  South-West  it  was  really  a  raw-head-and-bloody- 
bones,  pregnant  with  every  moral,  social,  and  political 
iniquity.  A  law  among  the  Cherokees,  passed  in  1854, 
banishing  the  missionaries  of  the  American  Board,  declared 
that  "  an  abolitionist  was  one  who  teaches  a  negro  or  slave 
to  read,  write,  or  sing,  or  who  sits  at  meat  with  him."  In 
short,  to  such  a  state  of  fanaticism  had  the  slaveholders 
arrived,  that  every  one  who  could  not  actually  plead  and 
act  for  slavery  and  against  freedom  was  considered  an 
enemy  to  the  South,  and  fit  only  to  be  banished  from  the 
entire  South -West. 

*See  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  1854,  pages  34,  38,  42,  46,  54,  58,  122,  126, 
157, 162. 


EVENTS  OF  1855.  45 


CHAPTER   III. 

* 

EVENTS  OF  1855. 

1.  THE  Arkansas  Conference  convened  November  1, 1855, 
for  its  annual  session  at  Timber  Creek,  near  Bonham,  Fan- 
nin  county,  Texas. 

Mr.  Bewley  was  put  in  charge  of  the  Texas  Mission 
district.  He  moved  from  near  Springfield,  Mo.,  where  his 
family  had  resided  several  years,  and  after  a  journey  of 
five  hundred  miles,  settled  in  Johnson  county.  The  same 
year  he  moved  thence  to  Milwood,  Collin  county. 

This  year  Rev.  B.  M.  Scrivner,  on  the  Bonham  mission, 
abandoned  the  cause  he  professed  to  serve,  and  joined  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South.  In  the  Southern 
Church  he  was  to  receive  a  salary  of  five  hundred  dollars, 
and  yet  he  endeavored  to  get  the  missionary  money  appro- 
priated for  the  mission  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
without  doing  any  work  on  the  field  to  which  he  had  been 
sent.  But  Mr.  Bewley  refused  to  give  him  the  missionary 
money.  This  Mr.  Scrivner,  as  we  learned  from  Mr.  Rob- 
ertson,  in  the  Summer  of  1862  raised  a  company  for  the 
rebel  army,  but  was  too  cowardly  to  lead  them. 

Mr.  Robertson  was  reappointed  to  Batesville  Mission  dis- 
trict. He  and  Mr.  Bewley  as  delegates  attended  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  at  Indianapolis  in  May,  1856. 

After  General  Conference  the  slavery  question  was  so 
stirred  up  in  Texas  that  our  members  found  themselves 
almost  entirely  disfranchised,  and  therefore  they  emigrated 
more  extensively  to  Oregon,  California,  Kansas,  and  the  old 


46  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

free  States  than  in  previous  years,  that  they  might  enjoy 
their  rights  as  American  citizens,  which  they  could  not  do 
in  Western  Missouri,  Arkansas,  and  Texas. 

2.  At  this  period  the  excitement  was  very  great  in  Mis- 
souri, especially  on  the  Missouri  River  and  Western  border, 
where  the  Kansians  and  Missourians  were  engaged  in  mu- 
tual border'  conflicts,  instigated  principally  by  the  pro- 
slavery  men  of  Missouri,  and  met  by  the  Kansians  with 
great  intrepidity,  as  the  only  mode  of  defense  on  their  part. 
The  Missourians  had  a  secret  organization,  arid  ^all  who 
refused  to  join  it  were  branded  with  abolitionism,  and  their 
movements  watched,  even  though  they  were  citizens  of  long 
standing,  and  whose  integrity  was  unimpeachable. 

Among  the  objects  of  this  hostility  was  Rev.  W.  H. 
Wiley,  an  itinerant  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  of  unimpeachable  character.  We  give  his  case  as 
narrated  by  himself  in  the  Missouri  Democrat,  and  so 
corroborated  by  others  as  to  place  the  narrative  beyond 
suspicion  as  to  correctness: 

"MR.  EDITOR, — I  wish  to  present  to  the  public,  through 
the  columns  of  the  Democrat,  a  plain  statement  of  an  affair 
which  recently  took  place  in  Cass  county,  Mo.  In  the 
providence  of  God,  and  the  arrangement  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  I  was  called  to  preach  the  Gospel  in 
Cass  county,  Mo.,  in  the  Harrisonville  circuit.  I  endeav- 
ored to  discharge  my  duty  as  a  Christian  minister  to  the 
best  of  my  ability,  teaching  nothing  but  those  truths  which 
make  wise  unto  salvation,  and  having  nothing  to  do  with  any 
of  the  vexing  questions  of  the  day.  I  had  labored  thus  on 
the  above  circuit  for  a  period  of  seven  months,  and  up  to 
about  three  weeks  ago  the  blessing  of  God  attending  my 
labors,  and  nothing  occurring  to  mar  the  peace  between 
me  and  my  people.  About  the  time  named,  an  article 
appeared  in  the  Cass  County  Gazette,  written  by  John  A. 


EVENTS  OF  1855.  47 

Tuggle,  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South,  in  which  there  was  an  attempt  to  excite  public 
opposition  against  me,  by  alleging  that  I  had  said  certain 
things  to  him  in  a  private  conversation,  respecting  the  de- 
cision of  the  question  of  slavery  or  on  slavery  and  Kansas, 
and  styling  me  a  Northern  abolitionist.  About  a  week  after 
the  appearance  of  this  article,  two  negroes  attempted  to 
escape  from  Harrisonville,  and  a  report  was  immediately 
circulated  that  I,  together  with  other  residents  of  the  town 
and  county,  had  instigated  them  to  make  the  attempt — 
than  which  nothing  could  be  more  false,  as  I  had  not  even 
once  spoken  to  a  single  negro  in  Cass  county;  and  the 
other  persons  were  citizens  of  long  standing  whose  charac- 
ters were  above  suspicion,  one  of  whom  had  been  a  resident 
in  the  State  forty-seven  years. 

"On  Thursday,  July  26th,  while  peaceably  pursuing  my 
way  along  the  public  road,  I  was  overtaken  by  two  men — 
one  of  them  known  as  Col.  Worley — who  addressed  me 
some  impudent  questions  respecting  where  I  was  going, 
etc.,  and  finally  informed  me  that  I  had  been  accused  of 
inciting  slaves  to  escape,  and  of  preaching  abolition  doctrine, 
and  that  I  must  return  with  them  to  Harrisonville  and  have 
the  charges  investigated.  This  conversation  they  inter- 
larded with  the  most  profane  oaths  that  could  fall  from 
human  lips.  I  protested  against  their  right  to  stop  me 
thus  on  the  public  highway,  when  the  aforesaid  Col.  W. 
leaped  from  his  horse  and  began  fumbling  about  his  person 
as  if  feeling  for  a  pistol.  After  some  further  parley,  I  in- 
formed them  that,  inasmuch  as  I  was  entirely  innocent  of 
the  charges  alleged,  I  did  not  fear  a  fair  investigation,  and 
would  accompany  them  to  Harrisonville  for  that  purpose. 
Just  as  we  turned  to  go  back,  sixteen  more  men,  mounted, 
made  their  appearance.  We  stopped  at  a  cabin  in  the 
prairie  for  supper,  where  the  bottle  was  freely  passed,  and 


48  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

I  received  the  most  insulting  treatment,  being  asked  to 
drink,  and  made  the  subject  of  obscene  jests  and  horrid 
oaths. 

"We  reached  Harrisonville  about  twelve  o'clock  at  night, 
and  I  was  taken  to  a  hotel  and  a  guard  of  three  men 
placed  over  me  during  the  night,  as  if  I  had  been  the 
greatest  criminal.  Next  morning  I  was  waited  on  by  three 
men  who  informed  me  that  they  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  search  my  effects,  in  order  to  ascertain  if  I  had 
any  abolition  documents.  The  committee  was  composed  of 
Rev.  Mr.  Allen,  a  Baptist  preacher,  Mr.  Bailey,  and  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  hotel  where  I  was  confined.  They  searched 
every  thing  I  had,  examined  my  Bible  and  hymn-book,  and 
read  my  private  letters,  carefully,  but  they  could  find  nothing 
to  substantiate  their  charges.  While  this  examination  was 
in  progress,  a  meeting  was  called  at  the  court-house,  and 
I  could  hear  some  person  delivering  what  seemed  to  be  a 
very  inflammatory  speech.  After  a  while,  a  committee, 
composed  of  Dr.  Hansbraugh,  Col.  Worley,  and  Rev.  Mr. 
Allen,  came  to  inform  me  that  I  was  wanted  at  the  court- 
house. I  accompanied  them,  and  found  about  two  hund- 
red men,  the  most  of  whom  were  of  a  low  class,  for  I  will 
do  that  community  the  justice  to  say  that  very  few  respect- 
able persons  participated  in  these  outrages.  A  certain  Dr. 
Maxel  sat  as  chairman  of  the  meeting.  After  a  call  to 
order,  Dr.  Hansbraugh  rose  and  said  that  I  had  been 
accused  of  aiding  some  negroes  in  running  off,  and  had 
been  preaching  abolition  doctrines  and  circulating  abolition 
documents,  and  that  it  had  been  resolved  as  the  sense  of 
that  meeting  that  I  leave  the  State  in  seven  days. 

"I  replied  briefly  that  I  protested  against  their  entire 
proceedings;  and  that  with  a  fair  investigation  I  could 
prove  all  their  charges  false,  and  challenged  them  to  such 
investigation;  that  if  I  had  done  any  thing  contrary  to 


EVENTS  OF  1855.  49 

law,  I  held  myself  amenable  to  it,  and  was  willing  to  suffer 
its  penalties  to  the  full.  I  was  told  by  one  of  the  foremost 
in  the  matter,  that  the  law  was  not  strict  enough,  and  they 
intended  to  take  it  into  their  own  hands,  and  that  if  I  did 
not  leave,  the  consequences  would  be  on  my  own  head. 

"This,  sir,  is  but  a  brief  statement  of  the  manner  in 
which  I  have  been  treated  on  American  soil,  by  persons 
calling  themselves  American  citizens.  How  long  these 
things  are  to  continue  I  can  not  tell,  but  I  think  it  is  high 
time  that  something  was  done  to  put  a  stop  to  them.  The 
fair  name  of  Missouri  is  thus  disgraced  by  bands  of  out- 
laws— for  certainly  men  thus  acting  can  be  termed  nothing 
else — and  as  yet  no  effort  has  been  made  by  the  officers  of 
the  law,  or  the  executive  of  the  State,  to  relieve  her  from 
the  stains.  What  a  contrast  do  such  proceedings  form  to 
the  genius  of  our  institutions  and  the  spirit  of  '76 !  Can  this 
be  called  a  land  of  liberty,  if  such  a  state  of  affairs  is  al- 
lowed to  continue?  I,  sir,  am  a  Southern  man  by  birth, 
and  came  here  from  a  Southern  city ;  but  if  Southern  insti- 
tutions are  to  be  protected  by  such  men  as  have1  maltreated 
me,  I  think  I  shall  seek  some  spot  where  at  least  my 
dearest  rights  shall  be  free  from  invasion.  Let  the  citizens 
of  Missouri  think  upon  the  circumstances  which  I  have 
endeavored  dispassionately  to  describe — one  only  of  several 
similar  ones  which  have  recently  occurred — and  le't  them 
decide  what  they  will  do — whether  they  will  let  these  fire- 
eating  politicians  ride  over  them-  rough  shod  any  longer, 
disgracing  the  State  and  bringing  contempt  upon  them- 
selves and  their  children. 

"  Hoping  that  wiser  and  prudent  counsels  may  obtain,  I 
am,  yours,  etc.,  W.  H.  WILEY. 

"  ST.  Louis,  August  8,  1855." 

The  foregoing  presents  several  facts  worthy  of  observa- 
tion, and  which  form  part  of  the  history  of  the  times. 

5 


50  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

The  principal  accuser  of  Mr.  Wiley  seems  to  be  Mr. 
John  A.  Tuggle,  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  South.  This  man  endeavors  to  involve  Mr.  Wiley 
in  consequence  of  a  private  conversation  respecting  Kansas. 
It  is  likely  that  Mr.  Wiley  uttered  something  against  the 
border  ruffianism  that  was  then  invading  Kansas,  as  every 
sensible  man  would  who  was  not  a  slavery  propagandist. 
This  was  cause  enough  to  pronounce  him  an  abolitionist, 
that  is,  a  stealer  of  negroes,  and  therefore  guilty  of  a 
mortal  sin  according  to  the  moral  creed  of  many  Southern 
Methodists. 

And  then  the  Baptist  minister  comes  in  to  take  part 
with  his  pro- slavery  Southern  Methodist  brother.  Indeed, 
a  large  portion  of  the  Baptists  of  the  South-West,  perhaps 
a  majority  of  them,  were  pro-slavery,  and  united  with 
Southern  Methodists  in  their  clamor  against  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

The  next  thing  we  remark  is,  that  the  low  rabble  were 
the  mere  tools  of  the  respectable  Southern  Methodists  and 
the  devout  Baptist  ministers  and  their  aids.  These  ground- 
lings loved  to  drink,  to  swear,  to  give  insults,  and  the  like; 
yet  these  professedly  religious  men  used  them  as  their  tools 
to  do  a  foul  work,  which  common  self-respect  prevented 
them  from  doing  themselves. 

Furthermore,  the  respectable  citizens  looked  on,  if  not 
complacently,  at  least  inactively,  and  without  interference, 
while  the  rabble  gave  laws  to  citizens  after  the  fashion  of 
real  mobocrats. 

Another  thing  is  presented,  namely,  by  a  kind  of  com- 
mon consent  of  this  respectable  community,  it  was  agreed 
that  the  respectable  Southern  Methodist  and  Baptist,  and 
their  respectable  neighbors,  counting  in  the  rabble — which 
was  supposed  to  be  a  rather  respectable  rabble — should 
take  the  law  into  their  own  hands,  and  make  decrees  for  the 


EVENTS  OF  1855.  51 

occasion,  and  thus  become  legislators,  judges,  and  executors 
in  order  to  consummate  speedily  the  arrest  and  punishment 
of  an  innocent  citizen!  This  was  one  of  the  precursors  of 
the  rebellion  which  broke  out  a  few  years  after,  and  in  Mis- 
souri there  were  many  similar  instances. 

Had  Mr.  Wiley  incited  the  slaves  to  run  away,  he  would 
not  have  been  pitied  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
suffering  a  legitimate  penalty,  as  from  the  first  that  body 
deemed  it  wrong  for  any  of  its  members  or  ministers  to 
perpetrate  such  an  interference,  much  as  they  condemned 
the  slave  system  with  its  licensed  inhumanities  and  abom- 
inations. And  the  history  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  in  discipline,  administration,  and  practice,  proves 
the  truth  of  this  assertion. 

This  was  publicly  declared  by  the  quarterly  conference 
of  Hannibal  station,  held  February  18,  1854,  in  reference 
to  the  mobbing  of  Rev.  Mr.  Sellers  by  those  of  Fabius 
township,  Marion  county,  Mo.  The  charge  was  that  Mr. 
Sellers,  and  all  preachers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
were  engaged  in  inducing  and  aiding  slaves  to  leave  their 
masters.  The  conference  in  its  resolutions  pronounces  this 
charge  a  base  persecution.  In  the  second  resolution  the 
conference  boldly  says  that  such  a  course  is  not  justified 
by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  We  refer  the  reader 
to  the  resolutions  themselves,  as  presented  in  the  history 
of  1854. 

3.  While  expelling  Methodist  preachers  and  laymen 
seems  to  have  been,  at  this  time,  according  to  a  "higher 
law"  in  Missouri,  we  need  not  wonder  that  unusually  sum- 
mary methods  were  sometimes  employed  to  catch  abscond- 
ing negroes.  The  following  appears  in  a  Missouri  journal, 
the  Lexington  Democratic  Advocate : 

"NEGRO  DOGS. — I  would  inform  the  citizens  of  Holmes 
county  that  I  still  have  my  negro  dogs,  and  that  they  are 


52  SOUTH  WESTERN  METHODISM. 

in  good  training,  and  ready  to  attend  all  calls  for  hunting 
and  catching  runaway  negroes,  at  the  following  rates :  For 
hunting,  per  day,  five  dollars;  or,  if  I  have  to  travel  any 
distance,  every  day  will  be  charged  for  in  going  and  re- 
turning, as  for  hunting,  and  at  the  same  rates.  Not  less 
than  five  dollars  will  be  charged  in  any  case,  where  the 
negroes  come  in  before  I  reach  the  place.  From  fifteen  to 
twenty  dollars  will  be  charged  for  catching,  according  to 
the  trouble ;  if  the  negro  has  weapons,  the  charge  will  be 
made  according  to  the  difficulty  had  in  taking  him,  or  in 
case  he  kills  some  of  the  dogs,  the  charge  will  not  be  gov- 
erned by  the  above  rates.  I  am  explicit  to  prevent  any 
misunderstanding.  The  owner  of  the  slave  to  pay  all  ex- 
penses in  all  cases.  I  venture  to  suggest  to  any  person 
having  a  slave  runaway,  that  the  better  plan  is  to  send  for 
the  dogs  forthwith,  when  the  negro  goes  off,  if  they  intend 
sending  at  all,  and  let  no  person  go  in  the  direction,  if 
they  know  which  way  the  runaway  went,  as  many  persons 
having  other  negroes  to  hunt  over  the  track,  and  failing  of 
success,  send  for  the  dogs,  and  then  perhaps  fail  in  con- 
sequence to  catch  their  negro,  and  thus  causelessly  fault 
the  dogs.  Terms,  cash.  If  the  money  is  not  paid  at  the 
time  the  negro  hunted  for  is  caught,  he  will  be  held  bound 
for  the  money.  I  can  be  found  at  home  at  all  times,  five 
and  a  half  miles  from  Lexington,  except  when  hunting 
with  the  dogs.  JOHN  LONG. 

"  February  14,  1855." 

The  service  of  blood-hounds  had  been  called  into  requi- 
sition in  Florida,  in  1840,  to  catch  runaway  slaves,  and  the 
same  method  had  been  resorted  to  in  various  other  portions 
of  the  South.  General  Jessup  approved  of  this  in  a  letter 
to  Col.  Harney,  in  which  he  instructs  him  to  inform  Os- 
ceola  of  this  mode  of  procedure.  He  says :  "  Tell  him 
[Osceola]  I  am  sending  to  Cuba  for  blood-hounds  to  trail 


EVENTS  OP  1855.  53 

them,  [the  negroes,]  and  I  intend  to  hang  every  one  of  them 
who  does  not  come  in."  By  resolution  Col.  Fitzparick  was 
"authorized  to  proceed  to  Havanna  and  procure  a  kennel 
of  blood-hounds,  noted  for  tracking  and  pursuing  negroes." 
Accordingly  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  reached  St.  Augustine,  Janu- 
ary 6, 1840,  with  thirty-three  blood-hounds,  which  cost  each 
one  hundred  and  fifty-one  dollars  and  seventy-two  cents,  in 
all  the  sum  of  $5,006.76.  Also  five  Spaniards  were  em- 
ployed who  were  trained  to  the  business,  and  whose  lan- 
guage the  dogs  understood.  Mr.  Poinsett,  of  the  War 
Department,  December  30,  1839,  declared  that  the  "Gov- 
ernment had  determined  to  use  blood-hounds  in  the  war 
against  the  Florida  Indians."  The  officers  of  the  army 
had  urged  this  measure,  and  Mr.  Z.  Taylor,  July  28,  1838, 
agreed  "  to  employ  a  few  dogs  with  persons  who  understood 
their  management."  Mr.  Poinsett,  however,  was  careful  to 
state  that  the  dogs  should  be  employed  "to  track  and  dis- 
cover the  Indians,  not  to  worry  or  destroy  them." 

These  dogs  were  attached  to  different  regiments,  and 
fed  liberally  on  bloody  meat.  Young  calves  were  provided 
and  driven  with  each  scouting  party  to  supply  food  for 
them.  The  Spaniards  were  supplied  with  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  assistants  to  take  care  of  them.  The  dogs  were 
blithe  and  frolicsome,  and  paid  no  more  attention  to  the 
tracks  of  the  Indians  than  to  those  of  the  ponies  on  which 
they  rode. 

Mr.  Long,  of  Lexington,  had  the  example  of  Government 
officials  in  the  use  of  blood-hounds  for  hunting  down  human 
beings.  Negro-mongers,  therefore,  in  their  descent  to  this 
savage  plain,  easily  passed  over  all  former  restraints,  espe- 
cially so  since  these  merciless  beasts  were  likely  to  be  so 
efficient  and  rapid  in  recovering  and  herding  their  human 
chattels.  Blood-hounds  were,  therefore,  procured  and  adver- 
tised in  Missouri  for  service  in  catching  negroes.  Under 


54  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

these  circumstances  is  it  surprising  that  a  strong  odium 
should  rest  on  our  preachers,  -who  were  reputed  negro-steal- 
ers?  It  made  no  difference  to  state  that  this  charge  against 
them  was  utterly  untrue  when  the  falsehood  was  fully  be- 
lieved by  the  public  generally.  This  statement  is  verified 
in  the  case  of  Mr.  Sellers,  who,  having  been  pronounced  an 
abolitionist,  must  suffer  banishment  from  the  country,  though 
the  allegation  was  totally  false. 

4.  It  is  no  wonder  that  Methodist  preachers  and  members 
should  be  very  obnoxious  to  the-  pro-slavery  men  of  the 
South-West  if  we  view  the  depravity  of  morals  that  toler- 
ates and  practices  the  traffic  in  slaves,  receives  the  sanction 
of  law,  and  the  constant  patronage  of  slaveholders. 

Rev.  J.  B.  Finley,  in  January,  1855,  portrayed  it  as  it 
existed  in  New  Orleans  at  that  time,  and,  in  a  higher  or 
lower  degree,  in  all  slave  regions.  He  thus  describes  a  visit 
to  the  barracoons,  in  New  Orleans: 

"On  entering  the  mart  we  found  something  in  the  shape 
of  a  man  driving  round  a  room  open  to  the  street  twenty- 
two  females,  and  a  child  six  years  old,  and  fourteen  men. 
As  soon  as  we  entered  they  filed  off,  the  men  to  the  left, 
and  the  women  to  the  right.  We  were  met  with,  'Do  you 
wish  to  purchase  some  slaves?'  From  my  appearance,  and 
the  size  of  my  corporation,  I  was  taken  for  some  old  South- 
ern planter.  I  told  him  I  had  come  to  look  at  his  stock, 
and  he  was  most  eloquent  in  their  praise.  I  asked  if  his 
females  were  good  field  hands.  He  presented  several,  but 
called  from  the  ranks  a  mulatto  girl,  handsome  and  youth- 
ful. He  said,  'That  woman  can  pick  more  cotton  in  a  day 
and  stand  it  longer  than  any  one  in  the  country.' 

"I  then  turned  to  the  men.  He  presented  three  fine 
young  men,  and  said:  'These  can  not  be  beat.  One  is  from 
Maryland,  one  from  Virginia,  and  one  from  Kentucky;  one 
is  a  good  carpenter,  and  not  one  scar  on  their  backs — you 


EVENTS  OF  1855.  55 

may  strip  them  and  see.'  I  saw  one  poor  fellow  down  whose 
temple  the  blood  was  trickling  from  under  his  hat — I  sup- 
pose from  a  blow  by  his  keeper.  I  then  inquired  for  a  good 
house-woman.  He  recommended  several,  but  ordered  out^ 
the  woman  with  the  little  girl.  'There,  sir,  is  the  best 
house-wench  in  the  city  to  cook,  wash,  or  iron.  You  shall 
have  the  child  for  four  hundred  dollars,  or  the  woman  and 
child  for  twelve  hundred  and  fifty.'  I  said,  'I  will  not  buy 
the  one  without  the  other.'  As  soon  as  the  woman  heard 
this  she  came  up,  leading  her  child  by  the  hand,  saying, 
'0,  do  buy  me,  master,  I  want  to  go  with  you,'  and  followed 
us  to  the  door  pleading  for  us  to  buy  her.  Having  satisfied 
myself  with  respect  to  this  glorious  institution  of  the  South, 
I  left  with  a  feeling  of  indignation  and  contempt  I  have  no 
language  to  express,  nor  can  I  have  any  sympathy  with  a 
system  that  is  in  direct  opposition  to  every  law  of  God. 
This  is  a  villainy,  morally  and  socially;  if  there  is  one  vil- 
lainy worse  than  another,  the  act  of  brutalizing  man  made 
in  the  image  of  God,  and  rearing  him  as  a  brute  for  market, 
is  the  worst  of  all  villainies.  Yet  how  many  sympathizers 
has  it  in  the  religious  world ! 

"From  this,  in  passing  along,  we  saw  some  half  dozen 
well-dressed  women,  nearly  white,  sitting  in  a  room  open  to 
the  street,  and  something  in  the  shape  of  a  man  at  the  door. 
I  was  struck  with  their  appearance,  and,  thinking  that  I 
might  be  mistaken,  I  went  back  to  see  if  they  were  em- 
ployed at  any  thing.  I  made  strict  inquiry  of  one  who  was 
conversant  with  the  city  for  twenty-five  years,  and  he  told 
me  this  man  had  purchased  these  women,  and  kept  them  for 
the  accommodation  of  gentlemen!  This  is  another  feature 
of  this  glorious  Southern  institution  against  which  no  man 
must  speak,  and  for  which  the  whole  country  was  agitated 
last  Winter;  and  here  I  ask,  can  or  will  the  citizens  of  this 
glorious  country,  so  famous  for  its  religion,  and  its  religious 


56  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

and  political  liberty,  sympathize  with  and  justify  such  in- 
iquity? But,  sir,  to  give  you  an  idea  of  some  of  the  feel- 
ings of  some  of  those  who  hold  slaves:  As  we  passed  up 
the  river  we  stopped  to  wood.  Here  were  eleven  young 
women,  the  most  of  them  mulattoes,  with  four  boys,  putting 
up  cord-wood.'  An  old  planter,  looking  on  me,  said:  'Here 
is  some  fine  stock.  These  women  are  all  young.  They  will 
have  children,  and  if  eleven  a  year  they  will  be  worth  two 
hundred  dollars  apiece  as  soon  as  they  are  born,  and,  if 
mulattoes,  more.'  "l 

The  low  and  vicious  depravity  that  would  authorize,  or 
even  tolerate  such  barbarism  as  we  find  in  these  barracoons 
could  readily  assent  to,  if  it  did  not  even  aid  in  the  banish- 
ment and  persecution  of  good  men,  whose  principles  and 
practice  were  a  standing  reproof  to  such  low  immoralities. 
Who  can  wonder,  therefore,  that  the  attempt  was  made  in 
Texas,  Arkansas,  and  Missouri  to  banish  from  their  borders 
all  preachers  and  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  to  thrust  out  of  existence  its  very  organiza- 
tion? For  such  an  inquisitorial  work  recourse  to  various 
stratagems,  intimidations,  banishments,  and  murder  was  but 
natural  for  people  so  lapsed  into  gross  abandonment;  and 
the  declaration  of  Bishop  Pierce,  given  in  a  former  chapter, 
was  only  the  watchword  for  the  deluded  rabble,  and  their 
work  of  proscription  and  bloody  violence  was  the  logical 
sequence  of  the  premises  and  principles  involved  in  mob- 
law  and  the  barracoons. 

5.  Certain  ultra  sentiments  of  some  earnest  and  good  men 
in  the  North  provoked  extreme  views  and  measures  in  the 
South,  and  were  often  adduced,  though  fallaciously,  by 
Southern  men  as  an  apology  for  their  high-handed  pro- 
cedure. 

Among  those  of  our  Church  following  the  views  of  some 

i  Western  Christian  Advocate,  vol.  xxii,  p.  40. 


EVENTS  OF  1855.  57 

of  fhe  Garrisonian  school,  Kev.  William  Hosmer,  editor  of 
the  Northern  Advocate,  was  the  principal.  We  must  be- 
lieve he  was  a  good  and  earnest  man,  though  much  mis- 
taken in  his  sentiments,  and  unfortunate  in  the  leaders  he 
followed. 

Mr.  Hosmer  published  a  book  on  the  subject,  in  which 
there  is  much  good  antislavery  matter,  but  it  is  greatly  de- 
formed with  the  then  current  extreme  sentiments  of  the 
ultra  Garrisonians.  The  following  extracts  from  his  book 
will  give  the  reader  some  idea  of  the  character  of  its  dis- 
cussions : 

"That  slaveholders  can  not  be  Christians  is  no  arbitrary 
or  harsh  judgment,  provided,  simply,  that  slavery  is  a  sin." 
(Page  101.) 

"He  [the  master]  must  execute  the  horrible  purpose  of 
the  State.  The  State  has  placed  the  slave  among  brutes, 
and  it  is  the  owner's  business  to  keep  him  there.  He  is 
bound,  as  a  law-abiding  citizen,  to  see  that  the  design  of 
the  Government  is  not  frustrated;  he  is  intrusted  with  a 
fearful  responsibility  of  keeping  the  slave  precisely  what 
the  law  has  made  him — a  thing,  a  chattel."  (Page  103.) 

"Slavery  .  .  .  compels  the  owner  to  stand  in  the 
place  of  God,  and  exercise  a  power  which  does  not  belong 
to  man."  (Page  104). 

"The  trade  in  slaves,  whether  foreign  or  domestic,  is  no 
worse  than  the  simple  ownership  of  slaves."  (Page  106.) 

"Christians  must  obey  the  law  of  God;  therefore  slaves 
can  not  be  Christians."  (Page  91.) 

"  Slaves  can  not  be  Christians ;  because  in  order  to  slav- 
ery they  must  part  with  the  humanity  which  God  has 
given  them,  and  in  doing  so  they  commit  sin."  (Page  89.) 

"  Slaves  may  be  converted,  but  they  are  not  converted 
slaves."  (Page  84.) 

"  However  hard  it  may  seem  to  unchristianize  the  slave 


58  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

for  remaining  a  slave  after  his  conversion,  there  is  no  other 
alternative."  (Page  97.) 

"  If  slaves  cower  beneath  the  lash  and  refuse  to  die  for 
their  rights,  they  seal  their  own  doom.  Such  men  refuse 
liberty  on  the  only  terms  ever  granted  to  man.  They  are 
not  worthy  of  freedom,  or  they  would  be  willing  to  pay  its 
price."  (Page  81.) 

Such  sentiments  as  these  were  publicly  avowed  and  main- 
tained by  many  in  the  North  at  that  time  which  threatened 
to  subvert  the  very  foundations  of  the  true  antislavery 
doctrines,  as  taught  by  the  Scriptures  and  the  Discipline  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  To  meet  this,  Dr.  Dur- 
bin  published  an  article  in  the  Advocate  and  Journal  of 
July  26,  1855,  in  the  Western  Christian  Advocate  of  Au- 
gust 8th,  in  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  December 
27th,  and  other  papers  copied  it. 

The  principal  points  of  Dr.  Durbin's  article  were,  1. 
That  the  apostles  admitted  and  retained  slaveholders  in  the 
Churches  which  they  organized  and  governed;  yet  under  a 
discipline  subversive  of  slavery.  2.  That  the  Churches  which 
succeeded  the  apostles  admitted  slaveholders  into  their  com- 
munion under  a  discipline  at  variance  with  slavery,  and 
which  gradually  destroyed  it. 

These  points  were  denied  by  some,  and  certain  intended 
proofs  were  adduced  to  sustain  their  proposition.  But  the 
New  Testament  sustained  the  first,  and  the  undoubted  testi- 
mony of  history  sustained  the  last.  In  denying  the  truths 
of  the  first  point,  they  unwittingly  conceded  the  thing  in 
question.  In  regard  to  the  second,  the  proofs  on  which  it 
is  based  were  not  even  assailed ;  and  the"  allegations  against 
it  were  mere  assumptions,  wholly  unsupported  by  history; 
the  progeny  of  ignorance  of  the  subject,  or  mere  credulity. 

An  opponent  in  Zion's  Herald  denies  the  position  of  Dr. 
Durbin,  and  in  the  same  paragraph  agrees  with  it  where 


9  EVENTS  OF  1855.  59 

he  says  that  the  apostles  admitted  only  legal  slaveholders. 
In  this  he  concedes  every  thing  contended  for,  because 
there  is  no  other  sort  of  slaveholders  than  legal  ones,  as 
slavery  is  the  creature  of  law.  The  opponent  says  the  con- 
trary of  Dr.  Durbin's  position  was  proved  in  New  England, 
but  he  does  not  say  by  whom.  Such  proofs  as  mentioned 
could  not  be  found,  just  because  they  did  not  exist,  and 
were  only  the  confident  assertions  of  those  who  had  never 
studied  the  subject  with  any  accuracy.  Similar  declarations 
were  made  by  the  Northern  and  North-Western  Christian 
Advocates.  But  these  lax  denunciations  amounted  to 
nothing. 

While  the  preceding  views  are  correct,  as  we  firmly  be- 
lieve, the  Pauline  code  and  the  discipline  of  the  post-apos- 
tolic characters  were  strongly  antislavery  and  subversive 
of  the  system.  These  points  are  fully  sustained. 

The  extravagant  views  referred  to  abrjve  were  currently 
circulated  in  the  South-West,  and  every  antislavery  man 
was  popularly  held  to  an  indorsement  of  the  idea  that 
every  slaveholder  was  a  sinner  of  the  worst  sort,  and  that 
no  slave  could  be  religious.  This  only  fanned  the  flames 
of  passion  and  prejudice  in  the  pro-slavery  party,  and  our 
preachers  and  people,  as  a  consequence,  suffered  "grave 
annoyances. 

Indeed,  these  declarations  had  much  truth  connected 
with  them,  as  well  as  much  error.  Some  were,  however, 
by  inheritance  or  will,  made  slaveholders  without  their 
will,  knowledge,  or  act,  and  therefore  could  not  be  wicked 
in  that  respect  till  they  made  the  matter  their  own.  As 
it  was,  our  people  were  much  harassed,  and  their  trials 
greatly  increased.2 

6.  The  bishops,  in  their  official  course,  found  it  necessary 
to  call  for  missionaries  to  go  to  the  South-West.  As  this 

9 See  Central  Christian  Advocate  for  1855,  pages  201  and  205. 


60  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

was  slave  territory,  the  Southern  Methodist  press  viewed 
the  demonstration  with  undignified  wrath,  and  therefore 
gave  its  readers  the  benefit  of  sundry  scraps  of  mob  law, 
and  denunciations  of  freedom. 

The  Nashville  Christian  Advocate  quotes  with  approba- 
tion the  following : 

"Sx.  Louis,  April  23,  [1855.] 

"The  office  of  the  Luminary,  Parksville,  which  paper 
was  suspected  of  Free-soilism,  was  attacked  on  Saturday  by 
two  hundred  citizens  of  Platte  county.  They  destroyed  the 
fixtures,  threw  the  press  into  the  Missouri  River,  and  the 
editor's  absence  saved  him  from  a  coat  of  tar  and  feathers. 
Resolutions  declaring  the  paper  a  nuisance,  denouncing  the 
editors,  and  threatening  their  lives,  as  well  as  other  Free- 
soilers,  were  passed.  No  Methodist  preacher  is  to  be 
allowed  to  preach  in  the  county,  under  a  penalty  of  tar 
and  feathers  for  the  first  offense,  and  hanging  for  the 
second." 

The  editor  of  the  Nashville  Christian  Advocate  thus  com- 
ments on  the  foregoing:  "The  agitation  of  the  slavery  ques- 
tion is  disastrous  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  We  hope  Northern 
bishops  will  not  augment  the  flame  by  sending  mission- 
aries into  slave  territory."  The  outrages  of  the  mobocrats 
are  here  passed  over,  and  the  Free-soilers,  especially  Meth- 
odists, are  singled  out  as  the  pests  of  the  earth.  It  is  not 
marvelous  that  the  rabble  proceeded  in  their  cause  when 
stirred  up  by  persons  in  higher  positions. 

The  Missouri  Democrat,  commenting  on  the  outrages  of 
Platte  county,  says  :  "  Passion  is  an  unsafe  guide  !  It  leads 
men  into  those  extremes  which  oftentimes  produce  painful 
rebounds.  It  has  been  the  guide  of  the  people  of  Platte 
county,  Mo.,  till  they  h.ave  got  so  far  as  to  meet  with  a  re- 
action which  is  giving  them  trouble.  They  drove  Park  and 
Patterson  away,  and  threw  their  press  into  the  river.  They 


EVENTS  OF  1855.  61 

notified  all  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Church  [North]  to 
cease  their  preaching  in  the  county ;  they  passed  resolu- 
tions to  take  M'Crea  from  the  custody  of  the  law  and  to 
hang  him;  they  countenanced  the  riding  of  Phillips,  tarred 
and  feathered,  through  the  streets  upon  a  rail,  because  he 
proclaimed  himself  a  Free-soiler ;  and  finally  they  have  com- 
pelled Revs.  Woodward  and  Starr,  two  estimable  ministers 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  to  leave  the  charge  of  respect- 
able and  large  congregations  because  they  were  suspected 
of  being  unsound  on  the  slavery  question." 

The  better  portion  of  the  community  endeavored  to  cor- 
rect the  mistake  about  the  Presbyterian  ministers,  but  the 
leaders  of  the  mob  had  so  drilled  them  that,  although  sev- 
eral meetings  were  called  to  protect  the  ministers,  they 
were  so  interrupted  by  the  mob  and  its  leaders  that  mob- 
ocracy  gained  the  day. 

7.  The  term  abolitionist  was  at  first  used  to  designate 
one  who  was  in  favor  of  doing  away  with  slavery.  In  the 
North,  when  the  Garrisonian  party  arose,  it  was  confined 
to  them  especially,  because  some  of  them  had  no  scruples 
about  aiding  slaves  to  flee  from  their  masters.  Methodists 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  disowned  the  name;  for 
although  they  hated  slavery  and  the  Fugitive-Slave  law, 
they  scrupulously  avoided  aiding  or  advising  slaves  to  leave 
their  masters ;  but  because  they  were  antislavery  the  South 
soon  began  to  class  them  with  the  most  ultra.  And  then 
to  make  them  odious,  indeed,  they  were  denounced  by  the 
pro-slavery  men  as  abolitionists,  negro  thieves,  and  the 
like.  The  antislavery  principles  found  in  the  Methodist 
Discipline  were  greatly  distorted  by  them,  and  made  an 
occasion  for  the  use  of  the  most  degrading  terms  in  denun- 
ciation of  our  people. 

A  Mr.  Atwater,  who  denounced  all  men  that  did  not  go 
in  their  views  to  the  full  length  of  Garrisonianism,  had 


62  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

been  writing  to  a  Southern  preacher,  and  declared  that  all 
the  North  were  of  his  own  type.  This  stirred  up  the 
due  prejudice  against  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  South-West.  It  also  elicited  the  following  letter  from 
Bishop  Morris: 

"  CINCINNATI,  OHIO,  May  17,  1855. 

"REV.  ISAAC  BURNS:  Dear  Brother, — Yours  of  the  5th 
was  received  yesterday.  The  recent  excitement  in  Western 
Missouri,  gotten  up  by  designing  partisans,  is  cause  of  re- 
gret to  all  lovers  of  peace  and  order,  especially  to  all  con- 
sistent patriots  and  Christians.  They  who  brought  on  the 
present  state  of  affairs  will  have  finally  to  answer  to  God 
for  the  evil  done.  As  to  the  impression  sought  to  be 
made  by  enemies  that  the  bishops  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  send  preachers  to  Missouri  to  carry  out 
ultra  abolition  principles,  it  is  false  and  absurd.  Our 
bishops  are  not  abolitionists  themselves,  and  of  course  they 
do  not  seek  to  make  abolitionists  of  others;  neither  are  we 
pro-slavery  men.  We  are  Methodists,  as  we  ever  have 
been,  opposed  to  all  sorts  of  wickedness,  but  ever  loyal 
subjects  to  that  civil  government  under  which  we  are  prov- 
identially placed  in  the  prosecution  of  our  Gospel  mission. 
And  as  for  the  letter  of  Rev.  Mr.  Atwater  to  a  Southern 
preacher,  which  is  relied  on  for  proof  against  us,  he  alone 
is  responsible;  it  was  written  without  our  knowledge  or 
consent.  We  neither  approve  the  tone  of  it,  nor  indorse 
its  doctrine.  It  may  have  been  well  meant  on  his  part, 
but  the  practical  tendency  of  it  is  evil,  only  evil,  and  that 
continually ;  for  it  not  only  hedges  up  the  way  of  his  own 
brethren  in  their  efforts  to  be  useful,  but  influences  their  en- 
emies with  a  spirit  of  persecution.  I  disclaim  any  sympathy 
with  such  documents.  In  1848,  some  two  or  three  thousand 
Methodists  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas  who  wished  to  remain 
under  our  jurisdiction,  petitioned  our  General  Conference 


EVENTS  OF  1855.  63 

to  have  preachers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  sent 
among  them,  and  their  request  was  granted.  This  was  the 
occasion  of  sending  some  preachers  to  Missouri  and  Ar- 
kansas. The  object  of  sending  them  was,  first,  to  furnish 
these  destitute  brethren  and  sisters  with  pastors  from  the 
Church  of  their  choice;  secondly,  to  get  as  many  sinners 
of  all  sorts  converted  as  possible.  This  is  the  whole  story 
in  few  words,  and  whoever  charges  us  with  sending  them 
for  any  political  or  sinister  purpose,  or  to  accomplish  any 
object  other  than  to  feed  the  flock  of  Christ  and  save  the 
souls  of  the  people,  does  us  great  injustice.  You  are  at 
liberty  to  make  any  use  you  think  proper  of  this  letter. 
"  Yours,  in  the  Gospel  of  peace, 

"  T.  A.  MORRIS." 

This  was  well  said  by  one  who  always  utters  the  words 
of  soberness  and  truth. 

8.  Our  brethren  in  the  South- West  were  constantly  an- 
noyed, by  either  extravagant  representations  or  by  a  well- 
meant  jealousy,  lest  the  Church  on  the  border  should  be 
misled  by  the  pro-slavery  views  so  current  there.  The 
editor  of  the  North -Western  Christian  Advocate,  Dr.  Wat- 
son, a  good  and  zealous  man.  seems  to  have  entertained 
fears  as  to  the  soundness  of  the  border  in  its  principles. 

The  North-Western  Christian  Advocate  of  May  23,  1855, 
in  an  elaborate  article  on  occupying  slave  territory,  says : 

"  In  our  view,  Providence  seems  clearly  to  indicate  that 
the  time  has  fully  come  when,  with  so  many  more  inviting 
fields  before  her,  to  tax  fully  her  powers  and  resources,  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  should  not  waste  her  energies 
by  futile  attempts  to  push  her  institutions  into  Missouri,  or 
even  Kansas  and  Texas,  at  least  during  the  present  dis- 
tracted state  of  affairs.  But  especially  are  we  opposed  to 
the  pushing  of  our  institutions  into  these  territories  under 
the  old  regimen  of  tolerating  voluntary  slaveholding  iu  the 


64  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Church.  .  .  .  Morally,  numerically,  and  pecuniarily,  we 
have  lost  fivefold  more  than  we  have  ever  gained  by  seek- 
ing to  push  our  institutions  into  Kentucky,  Missouri,  and 
Arkansas." 

In  this  connection  Mr.  Watson  goes  over  the  Kelly  affair, 
the  Fabius  township  meeting,  the  conduct  of  the  Missouri 
Legislature  in  reference  to  Jackson  Seminary,  and  argues 
that  our  ministry  should  be  withdrawn  from  the  whole 
South-.West,  Kansas  included.  He  states  that  "martyrdom 
in  Missouri,  in  the  flames  of  pro-slavery  hatred,  should  be 
a  martyrdom  destitute  of  all  honor." 

Mr.  Conklin,  editor  of  the  Central  Christian  Advocate, 
quotes  from  the  Western  Christian  Advocate,  then  edited 
by  C.  Elliott,  a  response  as  follows : 

"  As  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Kentucky,  it 
is  small  and  feeble  as  to  numbers  and  general  influence  at 
present ;  yet  it  is  pure,  aggressive,  increasing,  and  possesses 
all  the  elements  and  constituents  necessary  to  preserve 
Methodism  and  pure  religion  in  Kentucky  from  being  swal- 
lowed up  by  pro-slavery  contamination.  It  is  feared,  hated, 
and  opposed  by  the  leaders  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  South,  in  Kentucky,  but  looked  on  with  interest 
and  hope  by  multitudes  of  members  of  that  Church.  The 
high  pro-slavery  oligarchy  hate  and  oppose  it,  yet  candid 
men  among  them  confess  that  it  is  right.  .  .  .  As  it  is 
we  have  much  hope  and  no  fear  in  regard  to  this  matter. 
The  cause  is  of  God  and  must  prevail.  Did  not  our  age 
and  prospective  infirmities  of  age  forbid,  we  would  certainly 
volunteer  for  the  Kentucky  or  Missouri  service,  especially 
for  the  Platte  country ;  and  as  we  do  not  belong  to  the 
Church  North,  but  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  their 
spirited  resolutions  could  not  affect  us. 

"  In  conclusion,  there  is  no  part  of  our  work  so  full  of 
promise  as  that  now  in  the  slave  States.  Our  people  and 


EVENTS  OF  1855.  '  65 

preachers  in  these  conferences,  as  a  whole,  are  right,  and 
nothing  but  right;  and  as  to  moral  wrong  among  them  on 
the  vexed  question,  as  Christians,  the  moral  wrong  is  not 
on  their  side,  but  on  the  side  of  their  accusers  in  the  North, 
who  take  up  the  unfounded  accusations  of  their  enemies, 
such  as  Mr.  Sedwick  and  others,  publish  the  false  charges, 
and  then  condemn,  without  -examination,  the  supposed  of- 
fenders; but  this  mischievous  course  has  had  its  day,  and 
will  be  met,  and  receive  the  merited  rebuke  it  deserves." 

The  foregoing  declarations  were  uttered  in  1855,  and  now, 
February,  1868,  thirteen  years  after,  the  events  justify  fully 
the  soundness  of  our  views.  The  just  principles  of  our 
Church  on  the  border  have  been,  under  God,  a  great  blessing 
to  Western  Virginia,  Missouri,  and  Kentucky.  By  God's 
grace  in  the  heart,  and  his  overruling  providence,  the  serv- 
ices of  our  Church  in  these  States  have  been  made  singu- 
larly successful  in  preserving  the  purity  of  religion  and 
the  union  of  these  States  with  the  United  States  of  America. 
What  in  1855  was  only  the  clear  reason  of  the  thing,  is  now 
a  matter  of  history,  and  our  reasonings  are  fully  sustained 
by  the  historical  facts  of  the  times.  Missouri,  Western 
Virginia,  and  Maryland  are  now  free,  principally,  under 
God,  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

Mr.  Watson  responded  promptly,  but  kindly,  "  that  he 
was  not  for  giving  up  Missouri  or  Kansas,  provided  that  the 
policy  of  our  Church  in  reference  to  slavery  be  changed ;" 
but  that  the  policy  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at 
that  time  was  founded  upon  "  the  same  principles  of  policy 
that  produced  the  Church  South."  He  also  stated  that 
"  the  day  of  organizing  Conferences  and  establishing  papers 
in  slave  territory,  on  the  old  obsolete,  conservative  basis, 
was  gone  by." 

Mr.    Conklin    responded,    among    other    things,    that   in 


66  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

organizing  in  the  slave  States  we  go  to  a  tried  people,  who, 
for  four  years  after  the  secession,  remained  scattered  and 
torn  rather  than  go  into  a  pro-slavery  Church ;  that  we 
have  the  benefit  of  the  experience  of.  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  South,  and  her  fate  is  a  warning  to  us ;  that 
our  guards  against  being  betrayed  into  error  are  now  greater 
than  they  were  in  the  early  history  of  the  Church ;  that 
there  is  a  radical  difference  between  the  two  Churches  that 
will  forever  prevent  any  close  affiliation ;  the  members  of 
the  free  States  will  exercise  a  guardian  watch-care  over  the 
Church  in  slave  territory. 

The  Texas  Christian  Advocate  says,  "  The  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  can  do  nothing  but  harm  by  its  labors  in 
slave  territory,  and  it  would  be  wisdom  in  it  to  cease  these 
labors.  It  can  never  prosper  in  Texas,  nor  in  Arkansas." 
Such  was  the  general  decision  at  that  time  by  Southern 
Methodists. 

The  Central  Christian  Advocate  quotes  the  editor  of  the 
Western  Christian  Advocate  —  C.  Elliott — who  declared, 
"  That  ijfie  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  had  labored  eighty 
or  ninety  years  in  the  slave  States.  Up  to  1845  her  labors 
extended  to  all  the  slave  States.  That  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  will  have  work  in  slave  States  till  God  in  his 
providence  shall  make  them  free  States,  and  even  after  that 
glorious  event.  They  will  then  be  on  their  own  ground,  as 
they  are  now  on  their  own  ground  in  these  States.  That 
there  will  be  slaveholders  in  the  Church,  by  inheritance 
and  will,  is  plain,  and  matter  of  fact,  while  slavery  is  in  the 
State.  Some  cry  out,  all  slaveholders  out  of  the  Church -1 
and  in  the  next  sentence  they  retract  this,  as  they  retain 
the  moral  and  exclude  only  the  wicked  slaveholders.  That 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  can  apply  only  moral  tests, 
not  merely  civil  ones.  And  this  course  never  sanctioned 
slavery,  and  never  can.  The  Church  excludes  only  those 


EVENTS  OF  1855.  67 

who  commit  sin,  or  refuse  admittance  on  that  account,  and 
no  other  tests  can  stand." 

9.  An  unpleasant  controversy  took  place  between  the  ed- 
itor of  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  and  him  of  the  North- 
Western  Christian  Advocate  on  the  continuance  of  the  former 
paper.  The  position  assumed  by  the  editor  of  the  North- 
Western  Christian  Advocate  was,  "  That  the  chapter  on  slav- 
ery be  so  changed  as  to  admit  no  voluntary  slaveholders  into 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church."  Mr.  Conklin  contended 
that  the  Church  in  the  South-West  was  correct  on  the  sub- 
ject. But  the  difficulty  in  the  case  all  along  was  one  that 
Dr.  Watson,  good  and  intelligent  man  as  he  was,  overlooked 
in  his  zealous  mode  of  expression.  Such  is  the  despotism  of 
slavery  that  it  compels  many  to  become  slaveholders  with- 
out, or  even  contrary  to  their  will,  their  knowledge,  or  their 
acts  in  any  way.  Such  is  the  case  with  all  those  who  are 
made  slaveholders  by  process  of  law,  by  will,  or  inheritance. 
The  law  makes  them  slaveholders.  And  yet  a  lax  phrase- 
ology obtained  on  this  subject.  Mr.  Duncan,  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  in  his  admirable  Treatise  on  Slavery,  at  the  close  of 
his  discussion,  stated  "that  those  who  became  slaveholders 
by  inheritance  were  not  slaveholders,"  and  in  the  Winter 
and  Spring  of  1855-56  Dr.  Watson  placed  at  the  head  of 
his  paper  for  months  the  statement,  "Those  who  are  slave- 
holders by  inheritance  are  not  slaveholders."  Of  course,  up 
to  that  point,  such  persons  were  innocent;  but  if  they  re- 
ceived cordially  the  grant,  they  became  as  guilty  as  though 
they  had  gone  into  the  market  and  purchased  them. 

Besides,  by  this  very  means  of  becoming  slaveholders  by 
inheritance,  and  by  stringent  laws  at  the  same  time  forbid- 
ding emancipation,  the  Church  has  been  tyrannized  over 
from  the  beginning.  Many  lax  expressions  were  used  on 
both  sides  of  this  question,  which  gave  much  occasion  of 
disturbance  on  the  border.  The  Southern  press  seized  all 


68  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

such,  and  used  them  to  trammel  our  brethren  in  Missouri. 
Furthermore,  amid  the  views  of  those  desiring  new  rules, 
the  subject  became  confused.  Many  on  the  border  were  so 
sensitive  as  to  be  very  easily  offended,  and  were  reluctant 
even  to  use  the  stereotyped  language  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  which  pronounced  slavery  a  great  moral 
wrong,  and  fit  only  to  be  eradicated  instead  of  being  sup- 
ported, or  even  tolerated.  The  phraseology  used  on  both 
sides  was  more  or  less  calculated  to  confuse  the  subject 
rather  than  to  develop  its  real  merits. 

10.  The  Missouri  Conference  was  this  year  to  have  met 
at  Independence,  Mo.,  October  llth.  But  the  opposition  to 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  so  much  on  the  in- 
crease as  to  call  forth  the  vigorous  interference  of  the  pro- 
slavery  portion  of  the  community.  Accordingly  a  meeting 
was  held  in  Independence,  on  Monday,  August  13th,  to  re- 
monstrate against  the  meeting  of  our  Conference.  This  was 
the  first  instance,  in  the  United  States  or  elsewhere,  of  a 
public  meeting  for  such  an  object.  Colonel  James  Chiles 
was  called  to  the  chair,  and  N.  R.  M'Murry  was  chosen 
Secretary.  The  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were 
then  adopted: 

"  Whereas,  it  is  known  that  the  people  of  Western  Mis- 
souri have  been  and  still  are  greatly  excited  on  the  slavery 
question,  owing  to  their  proximity  to  the  territory  of  Kan- 
sas, and  various  other  causes  well  known  to  the  public;  and, 
whereas,  it  is  known  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
North,  design  holding  their  Annual  Conference  in  this  place, 
in  October  next;  and,  whereas,  we  believe  that  the  sitting 
of  said  Conference  in  this  place,  in  view  of  the  state  of 
public  opinion  here,  and  the  supposed  antislavery  sentiments 
and  opinions  of  the  ministers  and  others  who  will  constitute 
the  Conference,  may  lead  to  results  and  acts  to  be  regretted 
by  the  citizens  of  this  community,  we  deem  it  but  an  act 


EVENTS  OF  1855.  69 

/ 

of  justice  to  notify  the  Conference  of  the  state  of  things 
here,  and  earnestly  requesting  them  to  hold  said  Confer- 
ence at  some  other  point  where  less  excitement  prevails; 
therefore, 

"Resolved,  That,  for  the  reasons  above  stated  and  set  forth, 
we  respectfully  remonstrate  with  the  ministers,  bishops,  and 
others  who  will  constitute  said  Conference  against  the  hold- 
ing of  the  same  at  this  place  in  September  or  October  next, 
and  earnestly  request  them  to  hold  said  Conference  at  some 
other,  point,  where  less  excitement  prevails  upon  this  vexed 
subject  of  slavery. 

"Resolved,  That  we  deem  it  but  an  act  of  justice  to  our- 
selves to  ask  for  peace  and  repose  upon  the  slavery  question, 
and  for  this  reason,  as  well  as  for  those  already  stated,  we 
trust  the  ministers  and  others  constituting  said  Conference 
will  hold  the  same  at  some  other  place. 

"Resolved,  That,  if  the  ministers  and  others  constituting 
said  Conference  should,  after  this  respectable  remonstrance, 
persist  in  holding  the  same  here,  we  shall  hold  ourselves 
fully  acquitted  from  any  consequences  that  may  result 
therefrom. 

"Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  this  meet- 
ing be  forwarded  to  the  Western  Christian  Advocate,  pub- 
lished at  Cincinnati,  and  the  Central  Christian  Advocate, 
published  at  St.  Louis,  with  a  request  that  the  same  be 
published  in  each  of  said  papers." 

The  proceedings  were  published  in  the  Western  Dispatch, 
Independence,  Mo.,  August  17th. 

In  the  Western  Christian  Advocate  of  September  5th,  C. 
Elliott,  the  editor,  published  the  proceedings  as  requested, 
and  made  a  response  to  them,  from  which  we  select  the 
following : 

"I  and  my  readers  are  not  acquainted  with  any  Church, 
which  you  designate  by  the  name  of  'The  Northern  Meth- 


70  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

odist  Church,'  and  '  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  North.' 
"VVe  are  total  strangers  to  the  'ministers,  bishop,  and  others 
who  will  constitute  said  Conference.'  Yet,  although  we  are 
unacquainted  with  any  Church  by  either  of  the  two  titles 
designated,  or  with  any  of  their  bishops,  ministers,  or  mem- 
bers, we  publish  cordially  and  gratuitously  the  proceedings 
of  the  meeting,  as  requested. 

"If  it  be  said  that  the  body  intended  to  be  designated  is 
*  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  the  United '  States,' 
organized  in  1784,  and  existing  in  Missouri  coeval  with  its 
first  white  settlers,  none  of  its  officials,  whether  its  General 
Conference,  Annual  Conferences,  bishops,  ministers,  or  mem- 
bers, will  respond  to  the  name  'Northern  Methodist  Church,' 
or  'Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  North';'  they  do  not  be- 
long to  such  Church,  as  their  Church  is  known,  in  law  and 
equity,  by  the  name  and  title  of  the  'Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  the  United  States.'  Had  our  paper  been  called 
by  the  name  of  the  'Western  Christian,'  the  Western  Chris- 
tian Advocate  would  never  answer  to  the  call  under  such  a 
name." 

And  it  was  further  added,  in  regard  to  the  members 
of  Conference :  "  It  is  true  they  believe,  hold,  and,  by  their 
Discipline,  inculcate  that  slavery  is  contrary  to  natural  lawj 
contrary  to  the  Word  of  God,  and  contrary  to  just  human 
laws,  as  the  laws  which  enact  it  are  founded  in  injustice  and 
wrong.  But,  though  these  laws  are  bad  laws,  they  submit 
to  them  as  far  as  God's  law  will  allow,  and  no  further,  and, 
as  loyal  citizens,  they  are  the  supporters  of  law  in  general. 
It  is  their  right,  as  citizens,  thus  to  dissent,  to  alter  bad 
laws  when  they  are  able  by  a  majority  of  votes,  and  be  the 
better  class  of  citizens  on  this  account,  because  that  which 
is  morally  wrong,  as  slavery  is,  can  never  be  politically 
right.  The  bishops,  ministers,  and  members  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  are  of  the  faith  of  Washington, 


EVENTS  OF  1855.  71 

Jefferson,  and  the  best  American  statesmen  on  this  subject, 
and  their  rights  can  not  be  called  in  question."3 

The  members  of  Ebenezer  Church,  St.  Louis,  September 
4,  1855,  passed  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  in 
reference  to  the  persecuting  edict  of  the  Independence 
meeting: 

"  Whereas,  we  -have  learned  from  a  variety  of  reliable 
sources  that  very  strong  opposition  exists  in  the  city  of 
Independence  and  surrounding  country,  to  the  meeting  of 
the  Missouri  Annual  Conference  in  that  place;  and, 

"  Whereas,  we  would  most  deeply  regret  the  occurrence 
of  physical  and  "violent  collision  between  the  members  of 
our  Conference  and  the  enemies  of  our  cause  in  that  section 
of  the  country;  and, 

"  Whereas,  various  leading  members  of  the  Conference 
have  signified  by  letter  to  the  editor  of  the  Central  Chris- 
tian Advocate  their  conviction  of  the  propriety  of  a  change 
in  the  place  of  holding  the  next  session  in  view  of  existing 
circumstances ;  therefore, 

"  Resolved,  That  we,  the  members  of  Ebenezer,  Charge,  in 
the  city  of  St.  Louis,  do  sincerely  sympathize  with  our 
brethren  of  the  border  work, -and  would  most  cordially  in- 
vite the  Conference,  if  any  change  is  made,  to  hold  the 
next  session  in  this  city. 

"Resolved,  That  in  our  estimation  this  change  will  in- 
volve the  sacrifice  of  no  principle  of  Methodism  whatever, 
but  that  it  will  be  promotive  of  peace  in  our  borders,  and 
at  the  same  time  will  be  in  accordance  with  the  pacific 
precept  of  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church  to  his  first  dis- 
ciples— 'If  they  persecute  you  in  one  city,  flee  to  another.'  " 

For  the  sake  of  peace,  the  Conference  met  at  St.  Louis 
and  transacted  their  business  without  molestation.  And 
although  the  wording  of  the  proceedings  at  Independence 

'Western  Christian  Advocate,  vol.  xxii,  p.  142,  col.  3. 


72  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

was  more  courteous  than  that  in  most  similar  notices,  such 
a  declaration  was  in  the  full  spirit  of  intolerance.  It  was 
the  common  excuse  of  mobocrats,  and  is  of  a  piece  with 
the  most  bloody  edicts  of  persecution  in  ancient  and  medi- 
eval times.  It  was  the  forerunner  of  the  ukase  -against 
Bishop  Janes  and  the  Arkansas  Conference,  as  well  as  the 
murderous  decrees  authorizing  the  hanging  of  innocent 
and  good  men  in  subsequent  years. 

11.  In  the  course  of  the  year  1854,  the  buildings  and 
grounds  of  a  joint  stock  company  of  Jackson,  Cape  Grirar- 
deau  county,  were  offered  to  the  Missouri  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  consideration  of  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  good  school  at  that  point.  The  offer  was 
accepted,  teachers  secured,  and  a  school  organized  under 
very  encouraging  prospects.  Wishing  to  secure  perma- 
nency and  enlargement,  the  Trustees  of  the  institution  ap- 
plied to  the  Legislature  for  a  charter.  On  the  21st  of 
February,  1855,  after  considerable  discussion  in  the  House, 
the  bill  was  rejected  by  a  vote  of  sixty  to  thirty-six. 

The  reasons  for  rejecting  the  bill  were  fully  stated  dur- 
ing its  discussion.  Among  many  other  things  it  was  alleged 
that  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  an  abolition 
Church,  th,at  it  was  opposed  to  slavery,  and  labored  for  its 
destruction,  and  that  the  object  of  sending  missionaries  into 
the  State  was  simply  the  extirpation  of  slavery. 

At  this  time  there  were  between  five  and  six  thousand 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Missouri, 
and  these  would  favorably  compare  with  any  other  class  of 
citizens.  But  because  the  Church  and  its  members  were 
antislavery  they  could  not  be  countenanced  by  granting 
them  a  charter  for  a  respectable  school  or  academy.  Sim- 
ilar grants  were  made  to  all  other  Churches  in  the  State, 
such  as  Protestant  Episcopalians,  the  Southern  Methodists, 
Presbyterians,  Baptists,  Campbellites,  Cumberland  Presby- 


EVENTS  OF  1855.  73 

terians,  etc.  The  reasons  were,  that  those  Churches  in 
Missouri  were,  in  their  majorities,  pro-slavery,  and  their 
minorities  made  no  marked  opposition  to  it.  But  the 
"  Northern  Methodist  Church  "  was  an  abolition  body,  and 
could  not  be  countenanped. 

The  Southern  Methodists,  who  by  this  time  were  become 
truly  pro-slavery,  aimed  at  expelling  from  the  South-West 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  therefore  took  a  lead- 
ing part  in  the  opposition,  as  they  considered  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  their  principal  competitor. 

This  refusal  to  grant  the  common  rights  of  citizens  to  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  the  more  aggravated,  since 
it  was  in  direct  opposition  to  the  Constitution  of  Missouri. 
This  instrument  declares  "that  all  men  have  a  natural  and 
indefeasible  right  to  worship  Almighty  God  according  to 
the  dictates  of  their  own  consciences;  that  no  human  au- 
thority can  control  or  interfere  with  the  rights  of  con- 
science ;  that  no  person  can  ever,  be  hurt,  molested,  or 
restrained  in  his  religious  professions  or  sentiments,  if  he 
do  not  disturb  others  in  their  religious  worship.'" 

The  course  of  the  Legislature,  in  refusing  a  charter  to 
the  Jackson  Seminary,  was  only  a  prelude  to  the  disabilities 
thrown  in  the  way  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
Missouri,  with  the  manifest  design  of  driving  it  from  the 
State.4 

12.  The  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate,  the  organ  of  the 
Southern  Methodists,  at  this  time  was  constantly  engaged 
in  presenting  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  as  an  ob- 
truder  in  Missouri.  In  its  representations  it  left  us  no 
sphere  of  usefulness;  no  work  of  well-doing  with  which 
to  be  busied;  no  apology  for  our  presence  in  the  South- 
West,  or  even  for  an  existence.  The  constant  implication 
of  its  language  toward  us  was,  that  we  were  about  some 

4  Central  Christian  Advocate,  1855,  p.  38. 
7 


74  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

secret  vice,  working  some  clandestine  evil,  and  preparing  for 
open  villainy.  Our  Church  was  habitually  denounced,  and 
its  members  and  ministers  were  constantly  held  up  to  pub- 
lic contempt  as  negro  thieves. 

Rev.  Andrew  Monroe,  in  a  letter  dated  Kansas  Terri- 
tory, March  14th,  and  published  in  the  Nashville  Christian 
Advocate  of  April  12,  1855,  makes  a  strong  plea  for  the 
occupancy  of  Kansas  by  the  Southern  Methodists.  Mr. 
Monroe  was  superintendent  of  the  Southern  Church  in  that 
State.  He  argues  that,  although  much  can  not  be  done 
immediately,  it  is  the  time  for  the  Church  to  act.  Now  is 
the  time  for  the  great  South  to  locate  and  establish  her 
claims,  to  put  her  impress  upon  the  institutions  of  the 
country,  and  now  is  the  time  to  lay  deep  and  wide  the 
foundations  of  Southern  Methodism.  So  far  they  had  the 
vantage-grounds,  as  they  were  the  first  in  the  field,  and 
the  sympathies  of  the  Southern  people  were  with  them. 
As  the  country  will  be  densely  populated,  now  is  the  time 
to  act.  This  very  season  is  the  time  for  the  Church  to  act. 
He  says  that  he  had  the  services  of  two  local  preachers, 
and  the  promise  of  two  more  from  Missouri.  He  urges 
the  preachers  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  to  emigrate  to 
Kansas.  The  South  generally,  and  the  Church  in  particu- 
lar, has  much  to  win  or  lose  in  this  matter.  His  letter 
concludes  thus: 

"  We  hope  to  see  thousands  of  families  here  from  slave- 
holding  States  before  six  months  shall  pass.  Then  let 
local  preachers  come  and  seek  a  home  in  this  good  land, 
and  have  a  position  where  their  ministry  is  greatly  needed. 
Our  bishops,  presiding  elders,  preachers,  and  people  ought 
to  know  that  this  country  will  be  settled,  and  furnished 
with  preachers  and  institutions.  If  we  do  not  do  it,  others 
will.  May  we  not  hope  for  prompt  and  efficient  action 
on  the  part  of  the  South,  till  the  men  and  the  vast  wealth 


EVENTS  OF  1855.  75 

of  the  South  be  called  into  requisition.  The  Church,  North, 
is  already  contemplating  the  founding  of  a  Methodist  Uni- 
versity in  Kansas  Territory,  and  will  spare  neither  men  nor 
means  to  accomplish  their  object.  Will  the  South  be  be- 
hind, dragging  at  the  end?  No,  never.  We  have  the  re- 
sources, we  have  the  strong,  motive  power.  I  am  urged  to 
write  this  by  the  wants  and  pressing  demands  of  a  common 
cause,  in  which  I  would  interest  all  Southern  hearts,  hands, 
and  purses."5 

From  the  foregoing  it  is  manifest  that  the  Southern 
Methodists  took  an  active  part  in  the  efforts  put  forth  to 
make  Kansas  a  slave  State. 

Like  attempts  were  made  in  California » by  sending  men 
and  means  to  establish  a  pro-slavery  Church  in  that  Terri- 
tory. Rev.  B.  T.  Crouch,  jr.,  February  18,  1855,  gives  a 
doleful  account  of  the  Southern  Methodist  Church  in  Cal- 
ifornia. It  was  published  in  the  Memphis  Christian  Advo- 
cate, and  copied  in  the  Central  Christian  Advocate,  (May 
24,  1855.)  Mr.  Crouch  states  that  the  Southern  Methodist 
Church  is  a  failure  in  California,  and  unless  new  and  more 
energetic  means  are  employed  it  must  soon  be  extinct. 
Two  years  ago  he  says  Bishop  Soule  promised  to  send  them 
a  supply.  Of  the  preachers  in  the  country  he  also  says 
eight  left  and  returned  home,  and  two  located. 

Slaveholders  were  liberal  in  contributions  for  the  support 
of  Southern  Methodist  preachers  in  California.  But  not- 
withstanding all  these  endeavors,  the  Southern  Methodist 
Conference  there  run  its  race,  and  now — February,  1868 — 
scarcely  a  vestige  of  it  remains.  So  it  was  in  Cincinnati ; 
for  a  pro-slavery  Church  in  a  free  State  is  a  monstrosity. 
Nevertheless,  nothing  was  left  undone  by  Southern  Meth- 
odists to  sustain  their  Church  and  establish  slavery  in  Cal- 
ifornia and  Kansas. 

*  Central  Christian  Advocate,  1855,  p.  66. 


76  SOUTH-WESTEKN  METHODISM. 

The  Memphis  Christian  Advocate  of  November  17th 
was  rampant  against  the  sending  of  our  preachers  into 
slave  territory.6 

13.  The   border  war   in   Missouri  was   now  raging.     In 
Platte  county,  the  pro-slavery  men  drove  Messrs.  Park  and 
Patterson  away,  and  threw  their  press  into  the  river.     They 
notified  all  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to 
cease  their  preaching  in  the  county.     They  passed  resolu- 
tions to  take  a  Mr.  M'Crea  from   the   custody  of  the  law 
and  to  hang  him.     They  countenanced  riding  a  Mr.  Phil- 
lips on  a  rail  through  the  streets,  tarred  and  feathered,  be- 
cause he  proclaimed  himself  a  Free-soiler.     They  compelled 
two  excellent  Presbyterian  ministers,  Revs.  Messrs.  Wood- 
ward and  Starr,  to  leave  their  charges  because  they  were 
suspected  of  being  unsound  on  the  slavery  question/ 

14.  But  the  Missouri  and  "Western  Virginia  Conferences 
gave  full  proof  of  their  soundness,  by  adhering  to  the  true 
principles  of  Scripture  and  of  Methodism. 

Dr.  Durbin,  who  attended  the  Western  Virginia  Confer- 
ence, held  at  Wheeling  this  year,  reports  its  condition. 
After  stating  that  they  voted  unanimously  against  the 
change  of  the  General  Rule,  he  remarks : 

"  We  visited  this  Conference,  and  was  much  gratified  at 
its  growth  in  numbers,  influence,  and  wealth.  Without 
relinquishing,  in  any  degree,  the  position  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  has  occupied  on  the  subject  of  slavery, 
this  Conference  makes  progress  in  the  midst  of  a  slavehold- 
ing  population,  and  in  the  face  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  South,  which  is  pro-slavery.  Thus  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  Western  Virginia  is  a  living  protest 
against  the  evils  of  slavery,  and  uses  her  authority,  by  way 
of  discipline,  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  slave,  and 

e  See  Central  Christian  Advocate,  1855,  p.  190. 
7  Central  Christian  Advocate,  1855,  p.  91. 


EVENTS  OF  1855.  77 

to  prepare,  as  far  as  she  may,  both  master  and  slave  for 
emancipation."8 

The  Missouri  Conference  was  in  more  difficult  circum- 
stances, but  retained  its  principles,  and  did  not  abandon  its 
practice. 

The  Arkansas  Conference  still  existed,  but,  through  the 
persecutions  of  the  slave  power,  it  became  in  time  extinct. 

15.  Such  was  the  sympathy  felt  for  the  Missouri  Confer- 
ence, by  our  brethren  generally,  that  the  late  Dr.  Bond, 
sen.,  this  year  editor  of  the  Christian  Advocate  and  Jour- 
nal, urged  the  appointment  of  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer 
on  behalf  of  the  Conference.  We  here  quote  the  words 
of  this  venerable  man : 

"  But  the  strangest  thing  in  this  whole  business  is  the 
position  in  which  the  outrageous  proceedings  of  a  part  of 
the  citizens  of  Missouri  have  placed  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church. 

"  We  have  an  Annual  Conference  whose  operations  are 
chiefly  confined  to  that  State.  The  pro-slavery  patriots 
have  denounced  our  preachers,  and  threaten  all  ministers 
of  the  '  Church,  North,'  as  they  are  pleased  to  call  it,  with 
1  tar  and  feathers,'  if  they  dare  to  bring  the  message  of  sal- 
vation, with  which  they  are  charged  by  their  Lord  and 
Master,  into  Missouri.  The  patriots  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion commenced  by  voting  that  '  there  is  no  God.'  The 
patriots  of  Missouri  begin  with  the  declaration  that  God 
shall  not  send  any  to  preach  his  Gospel  but  such  as  they 
approve,  only  those  ministers  who,  like  themselves,  hold 
ultra  pro-slavery  opinions.  On  the  other  hand,  our  ultra- 
abolitionists  denounce  our  preachers  in  Missouri  and  other 
slaveholding  territories  as  pro-slavery  men,  pandering  to 
the  prejudices  of  the  '  sum  of  all  villainies,'  and  denounce 
our  Missionary  Board  for  making  any  appropriations  for  the 

8  Central  Christian  Advocate,  1855,  p.  102. 


4 
78  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

support  of  the  missions  under  the  care  of  such  Conferences. 
Our  suffering  brethren  are  thus  placed  between  two  fires. 
'  But  they  trust  in  God,  and  know  in  whom  they  trust.' 
All  we  can  recommend  in  this  time  of  unusual  peril  and 
distress  is  founded  on  this  trust.  Let  our  bishops  appoint 
and  proclaim  a  fast — a  day  of  fasting,  humiliation,  and 
prayer,  to  be  observed  throughout  all  our  charges.  Let 
us  all  make  the  condition  of  our  southern  border-conferences 
a  subject  of  earnest  supplication.  Let  us  pray  for  their 
deliverance  from  the  threatened  persecution  'or  that  they 
who  may  be  called  to  suffer  may  endure  as  seeing  Him  who 
is  invisible,  but  is  ever  present  to  those  who  are  faithful  in 
his  cause.  Brethren,  shall  we  have  such  a  fast — such  an 
opportunity  of  uniting  in  supplication  at  the  throne  of 
heavenly  grace,  in  favor  of  our  suffering  brethren?  We 
really  hope  so ;  and  that  in  our  prayers  we  will  not  forget 
to  ask  mercy  for  our  enemies  and  persecutors." 


EVENTS  OF  1856.'  79 


CHAPTER  'IV. 

EVENTS  OF  1856. 

1.  THE  Arkansas  Conference  for  the  year  1856  was  held, 
November  6th,  at  Cave  Spring,  near  Sarcoxie,  Mo.,  Bishop 
Baker  presiding.  Mr.  Bewley  was  on  the  Texas  Mission 
district.  Mr.  Robertson  was  on  the  Fayetteville  district, 
but  moved  his  family  to  Mound  City,  Kansas,  and  called 
his  residence  Pleasant  Garden.  His  design  in  moving  was 
to  leave  his  family  in  a  free  State,  and  to  have  a  burial 
place  for  them  on  free  soil.  Notwithstanding  the  remote- 
ness of  his  family  residence,  he  attended  faithfully  to  his 
work  in  Arkansas  and  Missouri. 

We  have  already  seen  how  Rev.  Wm.  Sellers  had  been 
mobbed  in  1854  by  the  inhabitants  of  Fabius  township, 
Marion  county,  Mo.  This  year  we  have  a  similar  instance 
while  he  traveled  Rochester  circuit,  Andrew  county,  Mo. 
We  find  this  occurrence  noted  in  the  Central  Christian  Ad- 
vocate of  June  26,  1856.  The  notice  is  quoted  as  follows, 
from  the  St.  Joseph  Gazette,  which  may  speak  for  itself  as 
to  this  matter : 

"  DIFFICULTIES  AT  ROCHESTER,  ANDREW  COUNTY,  Mo.-^ 
On  the  outside  of  to-day's  paper  will  be  found  the  proceed- 
ings of  a  public  meeting  at  Rochester,  which  gave  rise  to 
the  recent  tragical  events  in  that  town.  The  proceedings 
of  that  meeting  will  explain  themselves,  as  their  only  ob- 
ject was  to  rid  the  community  of  what  is  universally  con- 
sidered in  Southern  States  a  dangerous  class  of  preachers, 
a  Church  which,  on  account  of  its  Discipline  and  doctrines 


gQ  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

on  slavery,  is  a  nuisance — a  stench  in  the  nostrils  of  our 
people ;  we  mean  the  Northern  Methodist  Church.  There 
can  be  no  good  or  satisfactory  reason  offered  why  a  South- 
ern community  should  tolerate  the  existence  of  a  Church 
in  their  midst  which  declares  that  its  members  can  not  hold 
slaves — that  the  institution  of  slavery  is  against  the  spirit 
of  religion.  At  the  time  of  holding  this  meeting  a  diffi- 
culty occurred  between  a  pro-slavery  man,  Samuel  Simcox, 
and  an  abolitionist,  one  Hardesty.  A  few  days  afterward 
they  met  again,  when  angry  words  passed  again  between 
them,  which  ended  in  a  fight,  and  the  shooting  of  Simcox, 
the  ball  taking  effect  on  the  back  of  his  head. 

"  In  defiance  of  the  will  of  the  community,  as  appears 
by  the  resolutions  which  we  published  on  last  Saturday, 
the  Northern  Methodist  preacher  proceeded  to  hold  his  meet- 
ing. He  was  asked  to  desist,  but  would  not,  and,  as  the 
penalty  of  his  temerity,  was  '  tarred  and  feathered.'  In 
the  difficulty  which  occurred,  in  consequence,  another  man — 
Holland,  we  believe,  was  his  name,  an  abolitionist — was 
killed.  "VVe  have  not,  however,  the  particulars  of  this  last 
affair,  and  may  be  in  error  in  regard  to  the  real  facts. 
Much  excitement  exists  in  that  section,  and  a  fixed  determ- 
ination on  the  part  of  the  citizens  to  tolerate  no  more 
preachers  of  the  above  obnoxious  school  to  preach  or 
hold  meetings  in  that  neighborhood.  The  denomination 
of  preachers  would  consult  their  safety  by  leaving  South- 
ern soil,  where  they  are  looked  on  with  suspicion,  and  do 
no  one  any  possible  good.  They  are  not  wanted  here." 

Mr.  Holland,  referred  to  above,  was  a  man  of  "  three- 
score years  and  ten,"  whose  only  offense  was  that  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  a  friend 
to  its  preachers.  He  died  breathing  the  spirit  of  a  martyr. 
One  of  our  older  preachers,  in  a  private  note,  writes  as  fol- 
lows in  reference  to  him :  "  I  have  long  been  acquainted 


EVENTS  OF  1856.  81 

with  old  brother  and  sister  Holland  and  their  children ;  I 
have  often  eaten  at  their  table  and  rested  on  their  beds. 
He  was  a  great  friend  to  old  Methodist  preachers,  and 
therefore  mobocrats  wanted  him  out  of  the  way.  He  was 
a  devoted  Christian,  and  has  died  a  faithful  martyr  to  the 
cause  of  God." 

But  let  us  hear  Mrs.  Holland's  letter  of  June  24,  1856, 
directed  to  Mr.  Conklin,  of  the  Central  Christian  Advocate, 
and  inserted  in  its  issue  of  July  10th  : 

"BROTHER  CONKLIN, — With  great  sorrow  of  heart  I 
communicate  to  you  an  account  of  the  murder  of  my  dear 
husband,  Benjamin  Holland,  which  took  place  in  a  mob 
which  was  raised  against  Rev.  Wm.  Sellers,  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  in  Rochester,  Andrew  county,  Mis- 
souri. I  merely  state  what  came  under  my  own  knowledge. 
Brother  Sellers  was  to  have  commenced  a  protracted  meet- 
ing in  Rochester,  on  Saturday,  14th  inst.  He  came  to  our 
house  on  Thursday  evening  before,  and  remained  till  Satur- 
day morning.  He  and  my  husband  were  in  doubt  about 
going  to  the  meeting,  as  there  was  great  excitement  in  the 
place,  a  man  having  been  lately  killed  there ;  but  they  con- 
cluded to  go  and  see  if  there  could  be  a  chance  to  hold 
the  meeting  peaceably.  They  asked  me  to  go  with  them, 
but  I  concluded  not  to  go.  They  went,  and  after  some 
time  two  men  came  and  informed  me  that  my  husband  was 
shot  and  mortally  wounded,  and  wished  me  to  be  sent  for 
in  haste ;  before  I  got  started,  another  friend  came  in  a 
carriage  for  me.  When  I  got  to  the  place,  brother  Strack 
and  wife,  and  other  friends,  met  me  at  the  door,  weeping, 
and  informed  me  that  he  was  dead ;  this  so  affected  me 
that  I  partially  fainted,  and  when  I  came  to  myself  I  was 
lying  on  a  bed  where  I  had  been  taken  while  powerless. 
As  I  lay  on  the  bed  I  got  a  sight  of  my  murdered  hus- 
band, where  he  was  laid  out.  The  sight  so  affected  me 


82  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

that  I  fainted  again,  but  by  the  attention  of  kind  friends  I 
recovered  again.  Here  I  wish  to  express  my  thanks  to 
brother  Strack  and  wife,  and  sister  Dillard,  for  their  kind 
attention  to  my  husband  till  he  breathed  his  last,  and  for 
preparing  for  his  burial.  But  there  were  others  that  I  saw 
sauntering  about  on  Saturday  evening  and  Sunday,  with 
sticks  in  their  'hands,  and,  as  I  was  told,  they  were  using 
abusive  language.  My  husband  was  in  the  seventieth  year 
of  his  age.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  twenty-five  or  thirty  years,  and  for  that  time 
and  longer  our  house  has  been  a  home  for  Methodist 
preachers,  and  we  were  always  glad  to  see  them  come. 
The  murder  took  place,  I  am  told,  while  the  mob  had  hold 
of  brother  Sellers,  and  was  abusing  him ;  but  I  am  told 
that  my  husband  was  not  interfering  or  saying  any  thing 
at  the  time. 

"  The  first  words  he  spoke,  after  he  received  the  shot, 
were,  '  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  the  wicked !'  which  showed 
that  he  possessed  the  meek  and  lowly  spirit  of  his  Lord 
and  Master.  LYDIA  HOLLAND. 

"  P.  S.  Since  writing  the  above,  we  have  just  heard  that 
it  is  reported  that  my  husband  stood  with  a  revolver  in  his 
hand,  and  presented  it  and  threatened  to  shoot.  This  re- 
port is  utterly  false.  L.  H." 

The  foregoing  will  show  very  clearly  that  to  belong  to 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  as  a  member,  preacher, 
or  friend,  was  to  incur  the  character  of  an  abolitionist ;  and 
an  abolitionist  was,  in  the  popular  view,  a  stealer  of  ne- 
groes, and  could  not  be  permitted  to  live  in  Missouri ;  and 
if  such  they  must  be  banished  from  the  State ;  they  might 
be  tarred  or  feathered,  rode  on  a  rail,  or  put  to  death  in 
the  most  summary  way,  without  judge  or  jury,  or  any  law 
process,  save  that  of  mob-law,  in  defiance  of  constitutional 
and  statute  law.  Such  was  the  dilemma  in  which  the 


EVENTS  OF  1856.  83 

members,  preachers,  and  friends  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  Missouri  at  that  time  were  placed.  It  is  true  a 
portion  of  the  community  disapproved  of  this  course.  But 
the  pro-slavery  leaders  had  the  rabble  under  their  control, 
and  this  governed,  while  the  others  looked  on  in  silence, 
and  thus  gave  consent. 

2.  The  pro-slavery  men  in  Missouri,  among  the  various 
expedients  to  support  the  institution,  instituted  "Pro-Slav- 
ery Aid  Societies."     In  the  Western  Weekly  Platte  Argus, 
of  February  15,  1862,  we  find  an  account  of  one  which  the 
citizens  of  Jackson  county  had  formed.     The  object  of  this 
society  was  to  assist  persons  from  that  county  who  desired 
to  move  to  Kansas,  and  who  were  friendly  to  making  the 
same   a  slave  State.      From  all  we  can  ascertain  these,  or 
similar  organizations,  were   formed  in  all  the  slave  States, 
in   order  to   encourage   poor  white   people  to   emigrate  to 
Kansas,  under  leaders,  and  thus  prevent  it  from  becoming 
a  free  State.      Subsequently,  antislavery  men   in  the  free 
States    formed    aid   societies   to   encourage    emigrants   who 
would  go  for  freedom.     The  slaveholders  of  Missouri  could 
not   be   behind  others,  and  so   cooperated   in   money   and 
mobocratic  assaults  on  the  Kansas  Free-soil  men.     All  the 
administrative  aid    of   the  ruling  presidents,  in  appointing 
officials,  was  used  to  aid  the  pro-slavery  cause,  and  to  crush 
the  Free-soil  men.     Of  course,  this  produced  efforts,  on  the 
defensive    side,    to   resist   the    murderous    assaults   of   the 
propagandists. 

3.  The  raids  on  Kansas  by  Missourians  were  of  the  most 
savage  description.     As  a  specimen  of  their  spirit,  we  give 
below  an  appeal  made  to  the  citizens  of  Lafayette  county, 
Mo.,  in  the  Fall  of  1856: 

"Now  is  the  time  for  ACTION.  We  must  have  men  to  go 
to  the  Territory  immediately ',  or  all  will  be  lost.  The  inten- 
tion of  the  abolitionists  is  to  drive  us  from  the  Territory 


84  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

and  carry  the  next  election,  and  GET  POSSESSION  OP  THE 
KEINS  OF  GOVERNMENT.  This  we  must  not  submit  to.  If  we 
do,  Kansas  is  lost  to  the  South  forever,  and  our  slaves  in 
upper  Missouri  will  be  useless  to  us,  and  our  homes  must 
be  given  up  to  the  abolition  enemy.  Come,  men,  to  the  res- 
cue! Up,  men  of  Lafayette! 

"Meet  at  Lexington  on  WEDNESDAY,  at  12  o'clock. 
BRING  YOUR  HORSES  WITH  YOU,  YOUR  GUNS,  AND  YOUR 
CLOTHING,  all  ready  to  go  to  Kansas.  Let  every  man  who 
can  possibly  leave  homo  go  now  to  save  the  lives  of  his 
friends.  Let  those  who  can  not  go  hitch  up  their  wagons 
and  throw  in  a  few  provisions,  and  get  more  as  they  come 
along  by  their  neighbors,  and  bring  it  to  Lexington  on 
Wednesday.  Let  others  bring  horses  and  mules,  and  sad- 
dles and  guns — all  to  come  on  Wednesday.  There  is  no 
time  to  spare,  and  no  one  must  hold  back.  Let  all  do  a  lit- 
tle, and  the  work  will  be  light.  We  want  two  hundred  to 
three  hundred  men  from  this  county.  Jackson,  Johnson, 
Platte,  Clay,  Ray,  Saline,  Carroll,  and  other  counties  are 
now  acting  in  this  matter.  All  of  them  will  send  up  a 
company  of  men,  and  there  will  be  a  concert  of  action. 
NEW  SANTA  FE,  Jackson  county,  will  be  the  place  of  ren- 
dezvous for  the  whole  crowd,  and  our  motto  this  time  will 
be  'no  quarter.' " 

Similar  appeals  were  made  in  all  the  border  counties,  so 
that  between  two  and  three  thousand  men  were  soon  ready 
to  enter  the  Kansas  Territory.  Colonel  Doniphan  was  in 
command  of  the  Missourians.1 

These  repeated  attacks  on  Kansas  were  made  with  great 
vigor  and  savage  fierceness. 

A  committee  of  the  National  Kansas  Society  waited  upon 
and  addressed  President  Pierce,  about  the  last  of  August, 
and  the  following  is  the  account  of  the  interview : 

iSee  Central  Christian  Advocate  for  1856,  pp.  351,  353,  354,  367. 


EVENTS  OF  1856.  85 

"  Mr.  President,  during  the  eighteen  months  or  more  that 
executive  power  has  been  exerted,  as  is  alleged,  to  preserve 
peace  in  Kansas — and  vainly  exerted,  it  would  seem,  from 
admissions  here  made — the  disorders  of  that  Territory  have 
grown  only  worse.  At  this  moment  they  are  more  threat- 
ening than  ever.  A  peaceful  solution  of  its  troubles  seems 
still  more  uncertain  than  at  any  period  of  its  former  history. 
The  President  affirms  that  he  has  exhausted  all  his  Consti- 
tutional powers;  and  yet  order  is  not  restored.  Under  such 
circumstances  may  it  not  be  worth  while  to  inquire  whether 
the  germ  of  the  evils  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  Territorial  laws 
themselves  ? 

"President — This  question  I  do  not  propose  to  discuss  at 
the  present  time. 

"Committee — From  whatever  source,  then,  sir,  the  difficul- 
ties in  Kansas  have  originated,  this  one  thing  is  patent  to 
the  country  and  to  the  world,  that,  notwithstanding  all  the 
efforts  of  the  Government,  disorders  of  the  most  frightful 
character  have  prevailed,  disorders  that  would  shame  the 
worst  despotisms  of  the  worst  ages,  disorders  so  widespread 
and  so  atrocious,  so  bloody  and  so  infernal,  so  deeply  dam- 
ning and  inhuman  that,  to  escape  them,  the  wretched  inhab- 
itants would  make  a  gain  if  transferred  to  the  despotic 
governments  of  Russia,  Austria,  or  of  France.  During  this 
dark  reign  of  blood  and  terror,  during  this  fearful  tempest 
of  violence  and  anarchy,  these  poor  unshielded  victims  of 
plotted  vengeance  have  broken  no  law  and  committed  no 
crime.  For  hating  slavery,  because  they  loved  liberty,  all 
these  things  have  come  upon  them." 

The  Committee  then  continued: 

^Such,  sir,  is  the  nature  and  character  of  the  events  which 
have  transpired  in  Kansas  during  the  past  eighteen  months' 
policy  of  the  Government.  As  representatives  of  the  Na- 
tional Kansas  Committee,  we  are  here  to-day  to  ask  whether 


86  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

any  change  in  this  policy  of  the  Administration  is  to  be  ex- 


"  President — JVb,  sirs!     THERE  WILL  BE  NONE!" 

A  correspondent  of  the  Missouri  Republican  of  August 
27th  states:  "The  acting  Governor  at  Lecompton  on  yes- 
terday issued  his  proclamation  declaring  the  Territory  in  a 
state  of  insurrection,  calls  upon  all  law-abiding  citizens  to 
aid  the  legal  authorities,  and  to  endeavor  to  preserve  the 
peace,  to  protect  property  and  person  from  injury,  and  se- 
cure the  innocent  and  unoffending  in  the  rights  guaranteed 
to  them  by  the  Constitution.  He  will  ask  aid  of  Colonel 
Coffer  and  General  Smith,  but  it  is  understood  they  have 
no  orders  to  give  assistance,  and  the  militia  of  the  country 
must  attend  to  the  matter  themselves." 

This  proclamation  was  of  a  piece  with  the  treasonable 
response  of  the  President;  and  thus  the  loyal  men  of  Kan- 
sas were  left  to  the  tender  mercies  of  their  invaders. 

These  principles  and  assaults  of  Missouri  slaveholders 
were  readily  made  to  act  on  the  members  and  ministers  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  State  and  Territory 
above  named,  as  the  historical  narrative  in  these  chapters 
fully  demonstrates. 

4.  The  tyranny  of  slavery,  recruited  by  the  Georgians 
and  other  extreme  Southern  men,  passed  from  Missouri  to 
Kansas  by  acts  nothing  less  sanguinary  than  those  practiced 
by  the  African  slave-traders.  Rev.  William  Butt,  Septem- 
ber 2,  1856,  writes  thus  from  Fort  Leavenworth:  "I  am 
informed  this  morning  that  one  Free  State  store  and  several 
law-offices  are  in  ashes.  The  only  terms  upon  which  Free- 
State  men  can  remain  in  this  city  are  to  insert  their  names 
in  the  pro-slavery  list,  and  enter  their  ranks.  On  last  Sab- 
bath I  had  a  span  of  horses  worth  three  hundred  dollars 
taken  before  my  eyes."  September  6th,  Mr.  Butt  writes: 
"The  pro-slavery  men  are  fortifying  the  city,  making  a 


EVENTS  OF  1856.  87 

breastwork  of  wagons.  A  majority  of  the  Free-State  men 
have  fled  from  the  city;  of  the  balance,  some  have  been 
murdered,  some  forced  off  on  boats,  with  their  families,  .on 
ten  minutes'  notice,  leaving  all  their  goods  in  the  hands  of 
the  enemy,  some  are  kept  prisoners,  and  others  forced  into 
the  ranks  of  their  enemies.  The  bodies  of  Free-State  men 
are  frequently  found  scattered  upon  the  prairies  and  along 
the  roads." 

The  foregoing  are  mere  specimens  of  what  loyal  and  anti- 
slavery  men  had  to  suffer  in  those  times  and  places.  Indeed, 
the  pro-slavery  power,  supported,  or,  at  least,  not  restrained 
by  the  General  Government,  had  undertaken  to  make  every 
thing  bow  to  the  despotism  of  its  favorite  institution.  This 
was  peculiarly  so  in  regard  to  Methodists,  as  they  were 
considered  the  most  active  and  aggressive  element  of  the 
antislavery  power. 

5.  The  Kansas  difficulties  during  this  year  were  in  their 
hight  of  violence.  The  President  of  the  United  States,  Mr. 
Pierce,  and  his  subalterns  seem  to  have  espoused  the  side 
of  the  slaveholders  without  remorse  and  without  reason.  I 
can,  for  want  of  space,  give  only  an  instance  or  two.  The 
following  is  gathered  from  a  communication  by  Rev.  L.  B. 
Dennis,  dated  Lawrence,  Kan.,  August  29th,  and  found  in 
the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  September  llth: 

"The  pro-slavery  men,  reenforced  and  supported  by  the 
^Government,  had  formed  forts,  well  armed  and  provisioned, 
in  different  places,  in  order  to  attack  the  Free-State  men, 
as  well  as  to  protect  themselves  from  retaliation.  The  town 
of  Franklin  was  thus  occupied  with  men,  provisions,  and 
United  States  arms.  On  the  10th  of  August  Major  Hoyt 
was  selected  by  the  Free-State  men  to  examine  one  of  these 
forts.  He  was  apparently  kindly  received,  but  the  next  day 
he  was  found  buried  in  a  shallow  grave  under  some  brush, 
having  been  assassinated  by  the  pro-slavery  men.  This 


88  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

excited  the  Free-State  men,  and  they  determined  to  break 
up  one  of  these  forts.  They  made  the  attack,  and  the  pro- 
slavery  men  ran  away.  Over  one  hundred  United  States 
muskets  were  found  in  the  fort.  Thus,  as  mere  specimens, 
we  mention  that  Hoyt  was  murdered,  Hoppy  was  scalped, 
Jennison  was  murdered  in  a  cowardly  manner. 

"But  the  case  of  Mrs.  Cantner  was  most  atrocious.  On 
the  night  of  August  22d,  near  midnight,  she  had  occasion 
to  leave  her  bed  a  few  moments,  and  proceeded  a  few  steps 
from  the  house,  when  she  was  violently  seized  by  the  throat 
and  dragged  away  by  a  party  of  men.  After  going  some 
distance  they  stopped,  took  out  her  tongue,  tied  a  string 
tightly  around  it,  and  then  around  her  neck.  Then  four 
men,  in  their  turn,  gratified  their  brutal  lust  on  the  woman, 
then,  kicking  her  and  otherwise  maltreating  her,  left  her, 
and  supposed  she  was  dead.  However,  early  next  morning 
she  revived,  and  with  difficulty  made  her  way  to  the  house. 
Being  a  widow,  and  living  with  another  family,  she  was 
not  missed  during  the  night.  The  string  was  cut  from  her 
tongue,  which  was  then  so  swollen  that  she  could  not  get  it 
into  her  mouth.  As  soon  as  she  could  speak  she  gave  the 
particulars.  Whether  she  ever  recovered  the  narrative  does 
not  say." 

Slaveholders  are  so  accustomed  to  compel,  if  they  do  not 
succeed  in  persuading  the  colored  women  to  gratify  their 
lusts,  that  the  brutal  treatment  of  the  widow  is  only  an  in- 
stance of  what  often  occurs. 

The  course  of  pro-slavery  men  on  the  border  gave  full 
proof  of  what  was,  in  the  course  of  events,  to  take  place  in 
after  times.  We  see  the  results  of  this  violence  in  the 
slaughter  now  crimsoning  the  South-West.  Retributive 
justice,  in  part,  at  least,  is  falling  upon  slaveholders  in 
the  war  now  raging.  They  have  sown  to  the  wind;  they 
now  reap  the  whirlwind.  Yet  they  follow  their  bloody 


EVENTS  OF  1856.  89 

appetites,  for  "returned  rebels,"  while  we  write — August 
10,  1864 — are  reported  as  having  indiscriminately  murdered 
some  five  hundred  Union  men,  within  the  last  few  weeks, 
in  Missouri. 

6.  Although  retribution  for  the  terrible  wrongs  above 
alluded  to  as  yet  has  come  but  in  part,  there  are  indica- 
tions that  its  measure  will  be  full  at  last,  and  the  mind  of 
society  be  so  revolutionized  that  universal  public  opinion 
will  stamp  them  with  deserved  condemnation.  After  the 
lapse  of  eight  years,  precisely,  the  martyrdom  of  Mr.  Ben- 
jamin Holland  is  now  celebrated,  as  of  old  times  in  other 
cases,  by  an  annual  commemoration.  Rev.  Alfred  H.  Pow- 
ell, under  date  of  June  14th,  has  the  following  article  in 
the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  June  30,  1864,  giving 
an  account  of  the  "Martyr  Celebration  at  Rochester,  Mo.:" 
"It  has  been  truly  said  that  the  'blood  of  the  martyrs  is 
the  seed  of  the  Church.'  For  some  time  past  it  has  been 
contemplated  by  the  loyal  Unionists  of  Rochester,  Andrew 
county,  to  commemorate  the  death  of  Benjamin  Hofland, 
who  was  murdered  in  that  place  eight  years  ago  on  this 
day — June  14th.  On  the  morning  of  the  day  a  large  num- 
ber of  persons,  some  in  wagons,  some  in  carriages,  others 
on  horseback,  and  others  on  foot,  were  seen  going  to  Roch- 
ester to  pay  a  tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the 
sainted  Holland,  the  proto-martyr  of  Methodism  in  Andrew 
county,  Mo.  Rev.  L.  V.  Morton,  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  opened  the  services  by  preaching  from  Mat- 
thew xxiv,  16 — 'And  this  Gospel  of  the  kingdom  shall  be 
preached  in  all  the  world  for  a  witness  unto  all  nations; 
and  then  shall  the  end  come.'  The  preacher  stood  in  the 
door  of  the  old  deserted  store  where  father  Holland  was 
murdered.  The  crowds  without,  as  well  as  those  within, 
listened  with  great  attention.  The  preacher  remarked  that 
'in  that  very  door  father  Holland  was  shot,  #nd  his  friends 


90  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

determined  to  have  the  discourse  commemorative  of  his 
death  delivered  upon  the  very  spot  upon  which  he  fell.' 
During  the  sermon  the  stars  and  stripes  were  seen  waving 
in  various  places  of  the  vast  assembly,  while  at  the  left 
hand  of  the  preacher  the  National  flag  stood  draped  in 
mourning. 

"After  the  sermon  was  over  the  people  repaired  to  a  grove, 
where  seats  were  prepared  and  a  stand  erected.  « Colonel 
Bonham  called  the  people  to  order.  The  hymn  commencing, 

'  Servant  of  God,  well  done,' 

was  then  sung,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Young,  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  led  in  prayer  in  patriotic  style.  Rev.  Mr.  Schofield, 
of  the  Baptist  Church,  then  preached  an  hour  and  a  half. 
Judge  Heron  made  appropriate  remarks,  and  the  congrega- 
tion united  in  singing, 

'  Together  let  us  sweetly  live,'  etc., 

and  they  were  then  dismissed,  and  retired  peaceably  to  their 
respective  homes. 

"What  a  change  has  taken  place  in  Missouri  in  the  course 
of  eight  years!  Mr.  Holland  was  murdered  because  he  was 
a  member  of  what  they  called,  in  derision,  'The  Northern 
Methodist  Church.'  The  preacher  Sellers  was  tarred  and 
feathered  and  otherwise  abused  on  the  occasion,  and  warned, 
and  even  forced  to  leave  the  country.  Now  the  incumbent 
Methodist  preacher  preaches  the  anniversary  sermon,  while 
the  Presbyterian  and  Baptist  preachers  join  in  the  service. 
Truly  the  proverb  is  fulfilled  which  says,  '  The  blood  of  the 
martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  Church.' " 


EVENTS  OF  1857.  91 


CHAPTER  V. 

EVENTS  OF  1857. 

1.  THE  Arkansas  Conference  sat  at  Rocky  Bayou,  Izzard 
county,  March  2,  1857;  Bishop  Ames  presiding.  Mr. 
Bewley  was  presiding  elder  on  Texas  district,  as  well  as 
preacher  in  charge  of  Denton  circuit.  Thomas  M.  Willet 
was  in  his  district,  on  Clear  Fork  circuit.  They  had  a 
good  camp  meeting,  but  we  can  furnish  no  particulars. 
Mr.  Robertson  was  on  the  Springfield  district. 

Persecution  made  its  appearance  with  increased  violence, 
and  the  emigration  to  California,  Kansas,  and  Oregon  con- 
tinued. 

Disunion  seems  now  to  have  become  the  watchword  of 
several  leading  journals  in  the  South,  both  religious  and 
political,  but  especially  the  latter.  They  seemed  to  cast 
behind  them  the  sober  judgments  of  Jefferson,  Jackson, 
Clay,  and  Bentori. 

The  Richmond  Enquirer  entered  on  the  year  1857  with 
increased  vigor  in  its  well-known  nullification  career.  The 
following  extract  from  the  Enquirer  will  speak  for  the 
others  on  this  occasion: 

"  Liberated  from  the  illegal  restrictions  and  unjust  opera- 
tions of  the  Federal  Government,  and  left  free  in  the  devel- 
opment of  its  splendid  resources  and  the  expansion  of  its 
vigorous  institutions,  the  South  would  march  forward  in  the 
career  of  glory  with  a  firmer  and  faster  step  than  was  ever 
witnessed  among  nations.  Oppressed  by  the  burdens  of 
unequal  taxation,  discouraged  in  the  cultivation  of  its 


92  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

commercial  and  manufacturing  interests,  and  dwarfed  in  its 
territorial  expansion,  the^South  will  soon  become  the  help- 
less dependency  of  the  antislavery  power.  This  is  the 
alternative  before  us — a  grandeur  without  a  parallel  in 
history,  or  an  ignominy  which  one  shudders  to  contem- 
plate in  the  bare  conception.  Will  the  South  choose  the 
career  to  which  interest,  honor,  and  every  manly  motive 
beckons  it,  or  be  content  with  the  lot  of  the  craven  and 
the  slave?  The  timid  fool  may  whisper  that  the  expansion 
of  our  institutions  is  an  impracticable  achievement;  but 
nothing  is  impossible  with  the  people  of  the  South.  If  the 
North  resists,  upon  what  stronger  ground  could  we  stand 
than  upon  this  issue  of  the  extension  or  restriction  of 
slavery  ?  If  the  struggle  is  to  come,  let  it  come  now,  while 
yet  we  have  the  spirit  and  the  power  to  defend  our  rights. 
If  we  are  to  fight,  let  us  fight  for  the  principle  which  is 
essential  to  our  equality  in  the  Union,  or  our  independence 
out  of  the  Union.  Henceforth,  let  the  free  expansion  of 
its  institutions  be  the  ultimatum  of  the  South."  l 

The  religious  press  in  the  South,  though  more  guarded, 
was  not  less  bold  in  uttering  sentiments  corresponding  with 
the  above.  Way  land's  Moral  Science,  and  text-books  of 
the  same  sort,  were  denounced,  and  largely  excluded  from 
the  Southern  schools  and  colleges.  The  declaration  that 
"  all  men  were  born  free  and  equal "  was  denounced  by  the 
religious  and  political  press  as  absurd.  The  retiring  Gov- 
ernor of  Missouri  denounced  St.  Louis  on  account  of  its 
antislavery  character.  Col.  Benton  was  nominated  by  the 
Benton  democracy  in  the  Missouri  Legislature  for  election 
to  the  United  States  Senate;  but  the  opposing  candidate 
was  chosen.  Thus,  for  a  time,  the  pro-slavery  party  had 
the  dominance,  and  thrust  Mr.  Benton  aside. 

2.  As  was  said  above,  the  religions  denominations  of  the 

i  Central  Christian  Advocate,  1857,  p.  7. 


EVENTS  OF  1857.         .  93 

South,  with  some  circumspection,  were  in  full  harmony  with 
the  political  press.  Bishop  Pierce,  in  his  third  letter  from 
Kansas,  describing  his  Western  tour,  says:  "Very  likely  it 
will  appear  that  if  the  South  loses  Kansas,  she  will  be 
more  to  blame  than  those,  with  all  their  faults — I  may  add 
crimes — who  have  warred  on  our  institutions."  The  Bishop 
considers  Kansas  lost  to  the  South,  should  it  be  admitted 
with  a  free  constitution.  So  here  is  a  fixed  hatred  of  and 
opposition  to  freedom  by  a  professed  Christian  Bishop;  and 
this  associated  with  a  love  and  support  of  slavery.2 

The  Texas  Christian  Advocate,  early  in  this  year,  writes 
as  follows: 

"  Kansas,  after  all  that  has  been  said  to  the  contrary,  is 
proved  to  be  as  much  fitted  for  slave  labor  as  any  other 
part  of  the  South ;  and  if,  during  the  current  year,  a  steady 
tide  of  emigration  is  kept^up  from  the  South,  it  will  yet 
be  free  from  abolition  domination.  The  Southern  settlers 
there  have  by  no  means  given  up  the  question,  but  are 
actively  preparing  for  the  convention  which  is  to  form  the 
State  Constitution.  We  learn  from  the  Columbus  (Ga.) 
Times  and  Sentinel,  that  Captain  Clayton,  of  Clayton,  Ala., 
who  so  successfully  emigrated  a  prosperous  colony  to  Kan- 
sas, last  Fall,  and  located  them  near  Tecumseh,  Kansas 
Territory,  'will  take  out  in  the  Spring  a  much  larger,  and 
more  imposing  colony.  Other  patriotic  citizens  from  other 
portions  of  the  South  will  doubtless  follow  his  example, 
and  Western  Missouri  will  literally  empty  her  population 
upon  the  Territory. 

The  common  and  piously  avowed  professions  of  these 
papers  were  "  a  total  disconnection  with  politics."  "  Such 
a  position  is  both  Scriptural  and  politic."  "  Non-interven- 
tion." "  Letting  it  alone."  "  Neutrality  on  the  subject  of 
slavery."  These  were  their  chosen  forms  of  expression. 

2  Central  Christian  Advocate,  1857,  p.  62. 


94  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

The  politicians  of  the  South  decided  -  beforehand  that  the 
Bible  sustains  slavery;  and  many  ministers  aided  them 
with  their  approval  of  this  teaching.  Hence,  they  imposed 
silence  on  the  ministry,  as  it  was  a  political  question  with 
which  the  Gospel  ministry  had  nothing  to  do.  The  minis- 
ters in  the  South,  in  general,  as  by  a  strong  delusion  to 
believe  the  lie,  took  up  the  hackneyed  expression,  "we 
have  nothing  to  do  with  politics."  3 

3.  The  Southern  Methodist  press  seems  to  have  been 
very  much  grieved  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
should  send  her  ministers  into  slave  States.  Bishop  Pierce 
is  reported  as  follows  in  his  speech,  delivered  before  the 
Western  Virginia  Conference,  for  the  current  year,  and  it 
is  indorsed  and  copied  by  the  Memphis  and  Nashville 
Christian  Advocates: 

"He  [Bishop  Pierce]  thought^  that  all  the  denominations 
of  Protestant  Evangelical  Christians  ought  to -prosper;  but 
he  did  not  think  that  those  whose  affinities  were  for  and 
whose  affiliations  were  with  those  who  constantly  sought  by 
all  means  to  subvert  our  interests  and  overthrow  our  in- 
stitutions, ought  to  prosper  in  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Arkan- 
sas, Missouri,  etc.,  when  their  peculiar  notions  of  moral 
and  religious  obligations  led  them  directly  to  oppose  the 
civil  institutions,  and  local  rights  and  interests  of  the  com- 
munity. The  Bishop  very  clearly  intimated  that  there  was 
room  enough  for  our  Northern  brethren  to  work  where  they 
were  wanted  and  their  labors  needed,  and  where  they  could 
carry  the  news  of  salvation  without  sacrificing  their  honor, 
violating  their  own  solemn  contract,  and  imposing  them- 
selves upon  those  who  did  not  want  them.  The  wonder 
was,  how  a  Methodist  preacher,  acquainted  with  the  history 
of  Methodism,  whose  affiliations  were  with  the  North,  the 
leading  object  of  whose  life  and  labors  was  to  meddle 

» Central  Christian  Advocate,  1857,  p.  92. 


EVENTS  OF  1857.  95 

with  other  people's  business,  instead  of  miifding  his  own, 
and  preaching  Christ  crucified,  could  rest  in  peace  and  keep 
his  conscience  quiet  before  God." 

The  Charleston  editor  gives  the  following  position  of  the 
Church  South,  which  is  indorsed  and  enforced  by  Dr.  Lee, 
of  the  Richmond  Christian  Advocate : 

"We  therefore  hope  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when 
every  religious  denomination  in  Virginia  and  the  entire 
South  will  hold  and  entertain  the  same  views  of  the  insti- 
tution of  slavery  as  are  now  held  and  maintained  by  the 
Methodist  Church  South.  And  this  should  be  so.  What 
an  anomaly  does  it  present,  and  in  what  a  contradiction 
does  it  place  the  people  of  the  slaveholding  States  to  have 
in  their  midst  and  to  be  supporting  any  religious  sect 
whose  doctrines  are  that  African  slavery  is  a  sin,  or  that 
it  is  a  moral,  social,  or  political  evil !  We  repeat  that  such 
a  state  of  things  is  an  anomaly,  is  a  contradiction.  And 
Virginia  people  in  some  portions  of  the  State  are  doing  but 
little  to  correct  public  opinion  in  this  respect.  The  time, 
however,  will  come,  and  we  sincerely  hope  it  will  come  very 
soon,  when  every  religious  denomination  in  Virginia  will 
hold  upon  this  subject  views  in  accordance  with  the  rights 
and  interests  of  the  South.  The  signs  of  the  times  clearly 
indicate  that  the  Methodist  Church  South  is  to  be,  ere- 
long, the  most  powerful  and  influential  denomination  in 
Virginia  and  the  entire  South.  The  times  plainly  show 
that  the  masses  of  the  people,  outside  of  the  Church,  feel  a 
deep  interest  in  the  success  and  welfare  of  the  Church 
South.  -  The  people  regard  it  as  a  Virginia  Church,  as  a 
Southern  Church.  Its  preachers  are  Virginians  and  South- 
erners. They  are  men  who  are  devotedly  attached  to 
the  cherished  institutions  of  the  South;  they  are  men 
who  are  satisfied  that  their  sacred  duty  is  performed  by 
1  preaching  Christ  and  him  crucified,'  and  who  have  no 


96  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

sympathy  for  nor  hold  any  communion  with  Free-soilers 
and  abolitionists.'  "  4 

We  extract  from  one  of  Bishop  Pierce's  letters  on  Kan- 
sas the  following : 

"  It  is,  however,  beyond  all  controversy  that  the  North, 
in  their  blind  zeal  to  make  Kansas  a  free  State,  provoked 
all  the  troubles  that  followed  by  picking  up  and  forwarding 
a  population  to  serve  their  -purpose ;  and  the  abolitionists 
were  the  aggressors,  by  their  violence  and  rebellion,  and 
lawless  intrusions  on  the  rights  of  others :  still  the  South 
erred  in  imitating  a  bad  example.  She  ought  to  have  sent 
citizens,  not  soldiers,  and  to  have  left  these  abolition  knights 
to  the  law  and  the  troops  of  the  General  Government.  This 
plan  would  have  saved  the  Territory  to  the  South,  and  a 
quiet,  bona  fide  emigration  would  do  it  yet.  Not  that  I 
think  the  climate,  soil,  and  productions  favorable  to  slavery, 
but  it  might  be  recognized  in  her  constitution,  when  the 
time  for  her  admission  as  a  State  shall  come,  and  there 
would  be  slaves  enough,  along  with  this,  to  identify  Kan- 
sas with  the  Southern  States  in  the  councils  of  the  country. 
No  physical  law  bars -the  institution.  It  is  there,  and  there 
it  might  remain.  Nevertheless,  I  think  the  South  will  lose 
it,  by  her  own  fault  rather  than  by  the  contrivance  of  her 
enemies." 

The  Bishop  then  annexes  an  extract  of  a  letter  from 
Kansas  to  himself,  written  in  December  previous,  from 
which  we  select  the  following : 

"  As  a  Church,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South 
in  this  country,  in  the  affections  and  confidence  of  the  com- 
munity, has  the  vantage-ground ;  but  in  reference  to  num- 
ber of  preachers,  the  Northern  Church  has  the  advantage 
of  us  considerably.  We  stand  as  to  numbers  as*  we  were 
at  the  formation — two  transferred  from  us,  and  one  super- 

*  Central  Christian  Advocate,  1857,  p.  166. 


EVENTS  OF  1857.  97 

annuated,  and  three  transferred  to  us.  We  have  been 
anxiously  looking  for  transfers,  but  in  vain.  We  need 
them — we  must  have  them  or  give  up  the  field.  I  believe 
if  this  is  made  a  slave  State  we  shall  have  peace  and  quiet, 
with  law-abiding  citizens ;  otherwise,  confusion  and  dis- 
order, with  a  law-defiant  community."  5 

Thus  we  see  a  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South,  and  the  preachers  under  his  superintendence,  joining 
with  the  Southern  pro-slavery  men  in  extending  this  sys- 
tem over  free  territory.  Who  can  wonder  that  Bishop 
Pierce  wrote  as  he  did  in  1859,  urging  that  all  Methodists 
in  slave  territory  should  be  forcibly  driven  from  the  soil? 
And  this  teaching  was  an  exhortation,  in  effect,  to  murder 
Bewley  and  others :  and  we  may  here  ask  the  question  that 
we  asked  in  1860,  "  Was  he  Bewley's  hangman  ?" 

The  sentiments  uttered  in  the  previous  declarations  of 
Bishop  Pierce,  the  Southern  Methodist  press,  and  the  pro- 
slavery  Southern  people  generally,  were,  that  no  ministers 
of  the.  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  should  be  allowed  to 
exercise  their  ministry  on  slave  territory.  In  short,  neither 
a  minister  nor  layman  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
should  be  tolerated  as  such  where  slavery  existed.  The 
obvious  reason  was  that-  a  fundamental  principle  in  the 
moral  code  of  Methodism  was  that  slavery  was  a  moral 
wrong,  that  it  ought  to  be  extirpated,  and  every  member 
and  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  bound 
to  endeavor  to  secure  its  extirpation,  as  far  as  in  them 
lay.  This  change  would  have  excluded  the  first  Methodist 
preachers  from  the  United  States,  for  all  the  States  were 
then  slave  States,  and  all  the  preachers  and  members  were 
antislavery,  and  they  then — in  1784- — avowed  their  purpose 
of  extirpating  slavery.  They  disavowed  using  any  unlawful 
means ;  they  never  did  use  any.  And  now  we  may  record 

'See  Central  Christian  Advocate,  1857,  p.  54. 


98  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

the  result,  that  these  endeavors  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  seconded  by  those  of  like  minds,  by  God's  bless- 
ing, have  finally  accomplished  the  object  always  kept  in 
view  by  the  official  teachings  of  our  Church — we  mean  the 
extirpation  of  slavery. 

4.  Rev.  Dr.  -W.  A.  Smith,  President  of  Randolph  Macon 
College,  at  this  time,  wrote  an  elaborate  book  in  favor  of 
slavery.  It  had  been  delivered  to  his  students  previously, 
in  the  form  of  collegiate  lectures.  In  this  book  he  asserted 
"  that  slavery  per  se  was  right ;  or  that  the  great  abstract 
principle  of  slavery  was  right,  because  it  was  a  fundamen- 
tal principle  of  the  social  state  ;  and  that  domestic  slavery, 
as  an  institution,  is  fully  justified  by  the  condition  arid  cir- 
cumstances— essential  and  relative — of  the  African  race  in 
this  country,  and  therefore  equally  right." 

He  then  complains  that,  in  the  early  history  of  the  coun- 
try, "  Thomas  Jefferson  denounced  slavery  as  sinful,  per  se, 
and  declared  that  '  there  was  no  attribute  in  the  Divine 
mind  which  could  take  sides  with  the  whites  in  a  .contro- 
versy between  the  races,'  thus  assuming  in  this  remark  that 
the  providence  as  well  as  the  attributes  of  the  Deity  are 
against  the  slaveholder."  After  thus  denouncing  Jefferson, 
he  states  that  as  early  as  1780  the  Methodists  declared  that 
"  slavery  is  contrary  to  the  laws  of  God,  man,  and  nature, 
and  hurtful  to  society ;  contrary  to  the  dictates  of  con- 
science and  pure  religion ;  doing  that  which  we  would  not 
that  others  should  do  to  us  and  ours ;  and  that  we  pass  our 
disapprobation  upon  all  our  friends  who  keep  slaves  and 
advise  freedom."  He  also  complains  that  this  doctrine  was 
reasserted  at  the  organization  of  the  Church  in  1784,  and 
that  the  same  doctrines  have  been  maintained  to  the  pres- 
ent time  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  without  any 
material  alteration.  He  further  asserts  that  these  senti 
nients  pervade  our  literature,  our  politics,  and  our  theology, 


EVENTS  OF  1857.  99 

so  that  it  has  become  a  kind  of  National  belief,  as  it  has 
long  been  the  conviction  of  the  leading  Churches. 

He  then  states  that  the  teachings  of  Jefferson,  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence are  false.  Dr.  Smith  proceeds  with  abstract  rea- 
soning, in  order  to  prove  his  new  doctrines.  It  would 
puzzle  him  to  do  away  the  wrongs  in  the  following  charac- 
teristics of  the  slave  system,  which  makes  property  of  man, 
and  thus  subjects  him  to  the  accidents  of  property.  It  de- 
prives him  of  the  right  of  acquiring  property,  or  of  inher- 
iting it,  or  receiving  it  from  others.  It  deprives  him  of  the 
inalienable  rights  of  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 
It  deprives  him  of  the  right  of  bringing  a  suit,  and  strips 
him  of  his  wife  and  children,  without  redress.  Add  to 
these  the  long  list  of  other  wrongs,  to  say  nothing  of  its 
bastardy,  its  degradation,  etc. 

Dr.  Smith6  also  allows  that  slaves  must  not  be  educated, 
and  gives  his  reasons  for  that  position. 

Alas,  what  is  man  !  We  remember  the  time,  and  heard 
him  make  the  declaration  that  we  of  the  North  knew  little 
of  the  evils  of  slavery,  but  that  they  of  the  South  were 
aware  of  its  wrongs.  This  we  heard  him  say  in  General 
Conference,  in  1844,  and  privately  at  other  times.7 

5.  The  decision  of  what  is  called  the  Dred  Scott  case  at 
that  time  was  in  keeping  with  the  growing  and  exacting 
claims  of  the  pro-slavery  party.  The  case  is  thus  stated : 

Dred  Scott  commenced  a  suit  in  the  District  Court  of 
Missouri  against  Mr.  Sandfbrd,  to  whom  himself  and  wife 
and  two  children  had  been  sold  by  Dr.  Emerson,  claiming 
that  they  were  free  by  virtue  of  having  been  taken  by  Dr. 
Emerson  into  a  free  State — Illinois — and  kept  there  two 
years,  and  then  into  a  free  territory  north  of  the  State  of 

•This  hoary  perverter  of  "the  right  ways  of  the  Lord"  is  now  in  Missouri 
finishing  up  hia  unenviable  career. — EDITOR. 

7  Western  Christian  Advocate  for  1857,  pp.  74,  78. 


100  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Missouri,  and  kept  two  years  more.  The  case  was  tried  in 
1852,  before  Chief  Justice  Gamble,  of  Missouri,  and  two 
associate  judges.  The  Chief  Justice  totally  differed  from 
the  others,  but  they  being  a  majority  ruled.  Their  decis- 
ion was,  that  the  constitutions  and  laws  of  other  States  and 
Territories  could  not  govern  in  Missouri. 

Judge  Gamble  decided  that  the  master,  by  choosing  to 
make  the  free  State  the  residence  of  his  slave,  came  under 
the  operation  of  the  laws  of  the  State  to  which  he  brought 
his  slaves,  and  that  the  act,  in  this  case,  was  equal  to  an 
emancipation. 

The  case  thus  decided  against  Dred  Scott,  in  Missouri, 
was,  five  years  after,  brought  before  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States,  March  6,  1857. 

The  following  among  other  points  were  decided :  That 
persons  of  the  African  race  are  not  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  according  to  the  Constitution. 

That  the  ordinance  of  1787  had  no  force  after  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Constitution. 

The  Missouri  Compromise  of  1820,  exceeding  the  power 
of  Congress,  had  no  legal  force. 

Among  the  strange  things  which  Judge  Taney  said  in 
his  decision,  we  select  the  following :  "  That  persons  of  Af- 
rican descent  were  not  recognized  in  the  Declaration  of 
Independence ;  that  they  were  beings  of  an  inferior  order, 
and  unfit,  socially  or  politically,  as  associates  for  white 
people ;  and  the  black  man  had  no  rights  which  the  white 
man  was  bound  to  respect;  that  he  might  be  reduced  to 
slavery,  bought  and  sold,  and  treated  as  an  ordinary  article 
of  merchandise ;  and  that  these  sentiments  were  public 
opinion  when  the  Constitution  was  formed."  The  conclu- 
sion of  Judge  Taney  was : 

"  The  right  of  property  in  a  slave  is  expressly  conferred 
in  the  Constitution,  and 'guaranteed  to  every  State. 


EVENTS  OF  1857.  101 

"  It  is,  therefore,  the  opinion  of  the  Court,  that  the  act 
of  Congress  which  prohibits  citizens  from  holding  property 
of  this  character,  north  of  a  certain  line,  is  not  warranted 
by  the  Constitution,  and  is  therefore  void ;  and  neither 
Drcd  Scott  nor  any  of  his  family  were  made  free  by  their 
residence  in  Illinois.  The  plaintiff"  was  not  a  citizen  of 
Missouri,  but  was  still  a  slave,  and  therefore  had  no  right 
to  sue  in  a  court  of  the  United  States." 

Judge  M'Lean's  opinion  and  that  of  Judge  Curtis  were 
the  opposite  of  that  of  Mr.  Taney. 

Judge  M'Lean  showed  that  the  civil  laws  of  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe  decided  that  slavery  could  exist  only  in  the 
territory  where  it  was  established  by  law ;  and  that  in 
America  it  existed  only  by  the  authority  of  the  State,  or 
that  it  was  a  State  institution. 

The  logical  effect  of  the  decision  of  Judge  Taney  would 
be  to  introduce  slavery  into  all  the  free  States,  as  well  as 
the  Territories,  and  thus  fully  barbarize  the  entire  United 
States. 

Our  Chief  Justice  seems  to  have  been  utterly  stultified — 
by  what  influences  we  can  not  decide,  except  that  they  could 
not  be  good.  In  1819  the  Judge  seems  to  have  been  of 
quite  a  different  judgment  from  that  which  he  entertained 
in  1857,  or  thirty-eight  years  after.  In  his  plea  for  Gruber, 
in  1819,  he  uses  the  following  language — and  this  was  ut- 
tered in  Frederick  county,  Md.,  a  slave  State: 

"Any  man  has  a  right  to  publish  his  opinions  on  that 
subject  whenever  he  pleases.  It  is  a  subject  of  National 
concern,  and  may  at  all  times  be  freely  discussed.  Mr. 
Gruber  did  quote  the  language  of  our  great  act  of  National 
independence,  and  insisted  on  the  principle  contained  in  that 
venerated  instrument.  He  did  rebuke  those  masters  who, 
in  the  exercise  of  power,  are  deaf  to  the  calls  of  humanity, 
and  he  warned  them  of  the  evils  they  bring  upon  themselves. 


102  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

He  did  speak  with  abhorrence  of  those  reptiles  who  live  by 
trading  in  human  flesh,  and  enrich  themselves  by  tearing 
the  husband  from  the  wife,  the  infant  from  the  bosom  of 
the  mother;  and  this,  I  am  instructed,  was  the  head  and 
front  of  his  offending.  Shall  I  content  myself  with  saying 
he  had  a  right  to  say  this — that  there  is  no  law  to  punish 
him?  So  far  is  he  from  being  the  object  in  any  form  of 
proceedings  that  we  are  prepared  to  maintain  the  same  prin- 
ciples, and  to  use,  if  necessary,  the  same  language  here  in 
the  temple  of  justice,  and  in  the  presence  of  those  who  are 
the  ministers  of  the  law.  A  hard  necessity,  indeed,  compels 
us  to  endure  the  evil  of  slavery  for  a  time.  Yet,  while  it  con- 
tinues, it  is  a  blot  on  our  National  character,  and  every  real 
lover  of  liberty  confidently  hopes  that  it  will  be  effectually, 
though  it  must  be  gradually  wiped  away,  and  earnestly  looks 
for  the  means  by  which  this  necessary  object  may  be  best 
obtained;  and  till  it  shall  be  accomplished,  till  the  time 
shall  come  when  we  can  point  without  a  blush  to  the  lan- 
guage held  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  every  friend 
of  humanity  will  seek  to  lighten  the  galling  chain  of  slav- 
ery, and  better,  to  the  utmost  of  his  power,  the  wretched 
condition  of  the  slave."8 

It  is  an  unfounded  assumption  in  Judge  Taney  to  assert 
that  it  was  a  common  sentiment  in  America,  at  the  forming 
of  the  Constitution,  that  slavery  was  right.  The  history  of 
the  case  is  that  Mr.  Taney  himself,  in  1819,  denounced  it, 
as  his  own  words  show,  as  quoted  above;  that  it  was  only  in 
1832  that  the  very  first  plea,  or  rather  apology,  was  made  for 
it  by  Professor  Dew,  of  William  and  Mary  College,  and 
after  this  the  Southern  governors  fell  into  the  ranks  of  apol- 
ogists, and  finally  the  preachers  of  the  South,  Catholics 
especially,  and  then  Protestants-,  followed  the  current  of  evil 
teaching. 

6 Central  Christian  Advocate  of  1857,  p.  100. 


EVENTS  OF  1857.  103 

The  decision  on  the  Dred  Scott  case  gave  a  new  impulse 
to  the  already  strong  opposition  in  the  South-West  to  the 
members  and  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  was  an  encouragement  to  the  pro-slavery  persecution 
which,  in  1859,  mobbed  the  Methodist  Conference  in  Texas, 
and  later  led  to  various  murders,  and  to  the  expulsion  of 
half  the  members  of  our  Church  from  Missouri,  and  the 
utter  expatriation  of  them  from  Texas  and  Arkansas. 

6.  The  attempt  to  establish  a  university  at  Jefferson  City, 
Mo.,  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  became  the  occa- 
sion of  developing  the  pro-slavery  spirit  and  opposition  to 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  which  Bishop  Pierce  and 
the  slavery  propagandists  endeavored  to  promote.  The  Land 
Company,  of  Jefferson  City,  in  order  to  improve  their  prop- 
erty and  secure  the  best  educational  advantages,  made  hand- 
some appropriations  to  the  trustees  of  the  university.  Mr. 
Green,  a  pro-slavery  member  of  Congress,  opposed  this  with 
great  vehemence.  Mr.  James  B.  Gardenhire,  President  of 
the  Jefferson  City  Land  Company,  on  October  28,  1857,  de- 
livered an  able  address  in  favor  of  the  company.  The  object 
of  the  company  was  to  improve  their  property,  establish 
manufactories,  and  promote  education,  and  any  and  all  were 
invited  to  cooperate  who  saw  fit,  whether  from  the  North  or 
the  South.  Mr.  Green's  position  was  that  slavery  agitation 
and  the  evils  resulting  from  it  were  attributable  to  the  en- 
emies of  negro  slavery,  and  in  this  description  he  included 
abolitionists,  Free-soilers,  emancipationists — all  who  do  not 
believe  slavery  a  moral,  religious,  and  political  blessing. 

Mr.  Gardenhire  goes  on  to  show,  as  follows: 

First.  That  the  British  king,  before  the  Revolution,  was 
the  supporter  of  slavery  in  the  colonies.  This  he  substan- 
tiated by  several  proofs  that  can  not  be  refuted. 

Secondly.  That  the  early  colonists  were  the  enemies  of 
slavery.  As  proofs  he  adduces  the  fact  that  the  Provincial 


104  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Government  of  Georgia,  January  18,  1775,  after  denouncing 
the  slave-trade,  declared,  "That  we  will  neither  import  nor 
purchase  any  slaves  imported  from  Africa  or  elsewhere,  after 
the  15th  of  March  next." 

In  Virginia  a  similar  complaint  was  made  against  Great 
Britain,  and  like  purposes  declared  to  discountenance  it  by 
the  introduction  or  purchase  of  any  more  Africans.  Mr. 
Gardenhire  quotes  several  decisions  of  the  colonists,  both 
against  the  importation  of  any  more  slaves,  or  holding  as 
slaves  those  then  in  the  country,  and  remarks,  with  great 
truth,  that,  as  the  trade  was  wrong,  slavery  itself  was  wrong. 

Thirdly.  Mr.  Gardenhire  proved,  by  quoting  their  opin- 
ions, that  the  most  eminent  men  of  the  Revolution  were  the 
enemies  of  slavery.  As  proof  of  this  he  quotes  Washing- 
ton, Jefferson,  Franklin,  and  others. 

"Fourthly.  He.  shows  that  the  authorities  of  the  Federal 
and  State  governments  were  the  enemies  of  slavery.  As 
proof  he  mentions  the  ordinance  of  1787,  which  excluded 
slavery  from  the  North-Western  Territory. 

Fifthly.  He  also  proves  that  the  framers  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  Missouri  considered  slavery  as  an  evil  to  be  removed, 
in  time,  in  enacting  that  slavery  might  be  done  away  by 
paying  their  masters  for  them,  as  well  as  prohibiting  others 
from  entering  the  State. 

To  Mr.  Green's  position  that  slavery  was  a  moral,  relig- 
ious, and  political  good  Mr.  Gardenhire  gave  a  scathing 
correction,  and,  among  the  most  forcible  strokes,  adduced 
the  celebrated  plea  of  the  Mohammedans,  in  1815,  for  en- 
slaving Christians. 

He  then  points  out  the  injustice  6*f  the  treatment  of  the 
members  and  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  disfranchising  them  from  the  common  privileges  of 
citizens. 

The  city  authorities  of  Jefferson  City  at  this  time  passed 


EVENTS  OF  1857.  105 

resolutions  denouncing  the  course  pursued  by  the  opponents 
of  the  university  and  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.8 
'  7.  As  to  the  state  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
Missouri,  we  may  note  the  following: 

It  had  been  complained  that  during  the  last  five  years  the 
increase  of  members  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
Missouri  had  been  small.  This  is  really  accounted  for  by 
the  following  considerations:  Two  Annual  Conferences,  since 
its  organization,  had  been  set  off  from  the  Missouri  Confer- 
ence. In  1852  the  Arkansas  Conference  was  set  off,  and,  in 
1856,  both  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska  Conferences.  These, 
to  be  sure,  were  small  Conferences,  but  they,  in  part,  account 
for  the  small  number  in  the  Missouri  Conference. 

Our  people  and  cause  were  constantly  proscribed  by  the 
pro-slavery  portion  of  the  South-West  so  as  to  impede  our 
progress  to  a  considerable  extent.  Our  names  were  con- 
stantly cast  out  as  evil.  Many  of  our  own  members  who 
migrated  to  the  State  withheld  their  certificates  or  united 
with  other  Churches.  '  Hundreds  and  thousands,  within  the 
last  five  years,  have  been  lost  to  our  Church  on  this  account. 
The  new-comers  were  hunted  up  and  told  that  the  Northern 
Church  had  no  reputation  in  Missouri,  that  the  public  would 
not  patronize  them  did  they  unite  with  so  disreputable  a 
Church.  In  short,  the  political  and  the  social  influences, 
the  Church  influences  of  other  denominations,  the  commer- 
cial and  business  patronage  was  all  against  us.  All  these 
tended  to  prevent  many  thousands  from  uniting  with  us  in 
Missouri  who  had  been  good  members  of  our  Church  where 
they  came  from.  Also,  some  of  our  own  members  and  min- 
isters, visitors  from  other  States,  took  up  these  unfounded 
reports  against  us  and  reported  them  to  our  disadvantage  to 
our  people  in  other  States. 

The  Iowa  Conference  that  sat  this  year  in  Mt.  Pleasant, 

8  See  Central  Christian  Advocate  for  1857,  pp.  178,  182,  185. 


106  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

took  up  this  subject,  and  in  an  able  report  represented  the 
case  of  Missouri  as  it  really  was.  In  the  preamble,  they 
state  that  the  preachers  in  Missouri  and  other  slave  States 
of  the  South-West,  have  been  subjected  to  relentless  perse- 
cutions, suffering  the  loss  of  social  position  and  property, 
assaults  of  personal  violence,  and  in  several  instances  even 
death,  because  of  their  adherence  to  the  doctrines  and  dis- 
cipline of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  And  many  of 
our  brethren  at  a  distance  were  misled  by  false  represent- 
ations, so  as  to  question  the  fidelity  of  our  preachers,  and 
in  consequence,  proposed  to  cut  off  our  supplies,  and  even 
to  disband  the  Conference.  But,  as  the  providence  of  God 
pointed  out  that  our  Church  had  a  great  work  to  do  in  the 
South-West,  the  following  conclusions  were  drawn  from  the 
whole:  1.  That  they  had  unshaken  confidence  in  the  anti- 
slavery  character  of  the  brethren  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas. 
2.  That  they  express  their  cordial  sympathy  for  them,  and 
consider  them  worthy  of  support.  3.  That  there  are  mul- 
titudes in  the  South-West  that  have  no  sympathy  with  the 
opposition  to  religious  liberty  and  the  mob  violence  which 
has  applied  tar,  feathers,  and  hemp  ropes  to  our  suffering 
brethren.  4.  That  missionary  aid  should  be  afforded  to 
our  brethren  in  the  South-West,  and  we  offer  them  our 
sympathy,  support,  and  prayers.9 

•  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  1857,  p.  6. 


EVENTS  OF  1858.  107 


CHAPTER  VI. 

EVENTS  OF  1858. 

1.  THE  Arkansas  Conference  was  held  March  25,  1858, 
at  Fayetteville,  Washington  county,  Arkansas.  Anthony 
Bewley  presided,  no  bishop  being  present.  Mr.  Bewley 
was  on  Hamilton's  Valley  district,  Texas.  He  resided 
at  Johnson,  about  sixteen  miles  from  Fort  Worth.  He 
labored  as  best  he  could,  held  prayer  meetings,  etc.,  but 
could  do  very  little  besides.  Mr.  Robertson  was  on  Car- 
thage district. 

Rev.  Mr.  Butt  was  this  year  transferred  from  the  Arkan- 
sas to  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska  Conference. 

This  year  opens  with  a  continuance  of  the  pro-slavery 
teachings  and  of  the  deep  hatred  and  opposition  to  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  the  ministers  of  which  were, 
in  consequence,  able  to  do  but  little. 

We  adduce  a  few  specimen  declarations,  and  these  speak 
the  general  language  employed. 

The  Lynchburg  (Va.)  Republican  utters  the  following  in 
February : 

"  The  ministers  of  the  Baltimore  Conference  are  the  most 
deadly  foes  to  our  domestic,  institutions,  and  they  should 
be  expelled  from  the  State  as  soon  as  possible.  They  dare 
not  take  open  ground  against  slavery,  but  they  insinuate 
their  antislavery  doctrines  into  the  minds  of  the  ignorant 
and  uninformed,  and  thus  they  do  more  harm  than  they 
would  do  were  they  outspoken  in  their  pernicious  views. 


108  SOUTH  WESTERN  METHODISM. 

We  are  extremely"  gratified  that  the  Church  South  has 
made  a  permanent  lodgment  in  Fincastle,  Lexington,  and 
Lewisburg,'and  other  important  points  hitherto  held  by  the 
Northern  branch.  Let  the  good  work  commenced  con- 
tinue till  the  whole  Talley  and  Western  portion  of  Virginia 
are  cleansed  of  the  foul  leprosy  of  antislavery  Methodism. 
The  God  of  Abraham  and  of  Isaac  is  not  their  God  any 
more  than  he  is  the  God  of  Giddings." 

The  Memphis  Appeal,  in  reference  to  the  Mississippi 
Conference,  says:  ""During  the  session  of  the  Mississippi 
Conference,  at  Brandon,  Bishop  Early  presented  the  resolu- 
tions of  the  Alabama  Conference  recommending  the  strik- 
ing out  of  the  General  Rule  against  *  selling  men,  women, 
and  children,  etc.*  The  Conference  concurred  in  the  amend- 
ment by  a  vote  of  seventy  to  seven.  A  correspondent  of 
the  Mississippian  wishes  to  know  who  were  the  seven  dis- 
senting." 

The  Oxford  Mercury  also  speaks  out,  and  says:  "We 
join  the  correspondent  of  the  Mississippian  in  asking  who 
were  the  seven  dissenting.  We  want  to  'know  the  names 
of  the  seven  abolition  preachers  who  live  and  fatten  on  the 
people  of  Mississippi.  It  is  due  to  the  high  standing  and 
character  of  the  Methodist  Church  that  the  seven  negro 
worshipers  should  be  exposed,  and  held  up  to  the  scorn 
and  indignation  of  every  honest  man.  We  have  no  use 
for  abolitionists  in  our  State;  there  is  no  room  for  them, 
and  their  presence  should  and  will  not  be  tolerated.  If 
we  can  get  the  names  of  the  immortal  seven,  we  will  prom- 
ise to  give  them  an  advertisement  free  of  cost,  which  will 
make  them  known  all  over  the  country.  We  have  fully 
determined  to  show  no  favor  to  any  abolitionist,  no  matter 
what  position  he  may  hold,  and  we  should  always  denounce 
in  unmeasured  terms  such  characters  as  vile  reptiles,  who 
ought  to  be  driven  from  the  land.  We  ask  our  brethren 


EVENTS  OF  1858.  109 

of  the  press  throughout  the  State  to  join  with  us  in  calling 
for  the  names  of  the  seven  dissenters." 

The  Panola  (Miss.)  Star  responds:  "We  add  our  feeble 
voice  to  yours,  brother  Mercury,  and  would  like  to  see  the 
seven  names  in  full,  'bold-face.'  Ferret  them  out  and  ex- 
pose them,  that  the  people  may  know  who  are  opposed  to 
buying  and  selling  slaves  in  Mississippi." 

Such  are  the  utterances  of  the  fanaticism  which  at  this 
time  maddened  the  minds  of  the  leaders  of  the  Southern 
people.  This  prepared  the  way  for  driving  Methodists  out 
of  Texas  and  Arkansas,  and  taught  the  people  to  murder 
Bewley  and  others,  under  this  moral  insanity. 

2.  The  line  of  distinction  between  the  two  Churches  at 
the  time  of  separation  in  1844,  as  far  as  their  respective 
Disciplines  were  concerned,  had  not  been  drawn;  but  now 
the  line  is  made  clear,  the  Southern  Church  renounces,  we 
may  say,  dogmatically,  her  antislavery  character,  and  con- 
demns the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  the  very  teach- 
ings of  their  common  Discipline  up  to  May,  1858.  The 
Southern  General  Conference  of  1854  decided  that  the 
General  Rule  on  slavery  had  reference  to  the  slave-trade 
only.  But  now,  as  this  seems  to  have  been  a  manifest 
sophism,  it  is  purposed  to  erase  the  whole  from  the  book 
of  Discipline. 

The  subject  of  slavery  came  up  first  before  their  General 
Conference  by  a  petition  from  the  Southern  Church  in 
Washington,  asking  assistance  to  their  cause  in  that  city. 
A  committee  on  this  subject,  whose  report  was  adopted, 
among  other  things,  declare  "the  little  band  of  Southern 
Methodists  in  Washington  City  have  been,  for  the  last 
eight  years,  manfully  stemming  the  tide  of  opposition  from 
the  thousands  in  that  city  who  hold  connection  with  an 
avowedly  abolition  Church,  and  are  served  by  the  members 
of  a  Conference  openly  declared  to  be  antislavery.  They 


110  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

might  have  suppressed  their  convictions  of  duty,  and  re- 
mained in  the  Northern  Church,  but  they  could  not  sacri- 
fice principle.  Thus,  the  charge  against  the  Baltimore 
Conference  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was,  that 
they  were  antislavery  and  not  pro-slavery,  as  the  Southern 
Methodist  Church  was. 

But  the  General  Conference  entirely  struck  out  the  Gen- 
eral Rule  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and  forty  for,  and 
eight  against;  absentees,  three.  In  the  preamble  to  this 
report  it  is  said  that  the  rule  is  "ambiguous  in  phraseology, 
and  liable  to  be  construed  antagonistic  to  the  institution  of 
slavery,  in  regard  to  which  the  Church  has  no  right  to 
meddle,  except  in  enforcing  the  duties  of  masters  and  serv- 
ants1 as  set  forth  in  the  Holy  Scriptures."  The  two  follow- 
ing resolutions  express  their  decision  : 

"Resolved,  By  the  delegates  of  the  Annual  Conferences 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  in  General  Con- 
ference assembled,  that  the  rule  forbidding  '  the  buying 
and  selling  men,  women,  and  children  with  an  intention  to 
enslave  them '  be  expunged  from  the  General  Rules  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South. 

"Resolved,  That,  in  adopting  the  foregoing  resolutions, 
this  Conference  express  no  opinion  in  regard  to  the  African 
slave-trade,  to  which  the  rule  in  question  has  been  'uAder- 
stood  to  refer.'"2 

In  view  of  this  decision  Rev.  Joseph  Brooks,  then  edi- 
tor of  the  Central  Christian  Advocate,  declares,  concerning 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  that  they  have 

1  We  have  italicized  this  clause  that  special  attention  might  be  called  to  the 
sentiment  here  expressed.  -These  resolving  ministers  are  thus  so  happily  on  the 
way  of  fulfilling  the  part  of  the  pious  parson  in  Whittier's  "  Sabbath  Scene,"  and 
so  forcibly  call  up  the  sentiments  of  that  poem,  that  we  can  not  refrain  from  this 
method  of  advising  the  reader  to  procure  and  read  it,  as  the  most  natural  and 
happy  illustration  and  exposition  of  the  above  resolution  and  theory  we  .remember 
ever  to  have  seen  in  print. — EDITOR. 

3  Central  Christian  Advocate  for  1858,  p.  90.  See  also  pp.  94,  98,  Western  Chris- 
tian Advocate. 


EVENTS  OF  1858.  Ill 

u  placed  themselves  beyond  the  pale  of  the  great  Methodist 
world.  They  are  not  acknowledged  by  deputation  or  offi- 
cial intercourse  by'any  Methodist  Conference  worthy  the 
name  on  the  face  of  the  earth." 

Dr.  E.  0.  Haven,  then  editor  of  Zion's  Herald,  after 
quoting  the  action  of  the  Southern  General  Conference, 
most  justly  says:  "Thus  ended  the  Conference.  Their  sad 
action  on  slavery,  unparalleled  in  Christendom,  casts  a 
baleful  shadow  on  all  their  proceedings."  3 

But  the  Richmond  Whig  asks :  ,"  When  a  whole  Chris- 
tian denomination  sees  nothing  wrong,  or  immoral,  or  im- 
proper in  the  buying  and  selling  of  men,  women,  and 
children  with  an  intention  to  enslave  them,  why  should 
mere  politicians  presume  to  pronounce  as  wicked  and  atro- 
cious the  reopening  of  the  African  slave-trade?4  Indeed, 
the  last  Southern  General  Conference  considered  it  as  re- 
ferring to  the  African  trade.  Dr.  Capers  and  many  South- 
ern preachers  did  so  interpret  it.  No  language  was  more 
unequivocal  than  the  rule,  as  applying  to  any  purchase  or 
sale  of  slaves,  and  requiring  freedom  as  the  end  always  in 
view.  No  man  ever  could  mistake  its  meaning  who  con- 
sidered the  force  of  language  and  the  object  in  view; 
namely,  freedom-  in  any  purchase  or  sale  made.  That  is 
what  it  means,  and  never  meant,  any  thing  else  except  as 
perverted  by  the  glaring  sophisms  of  pro-slavery  inter- 
preters. 

Bishop  Soule's  opinion  may  here  be  considered,  as  it  is 
a  very  strange  one  indeed.  After  the  session  of  the  Con- 
ference the  Bishop  revised  his  speech,  and  published  it  in 
the  Southern  Christian  Advocate,  from  which  it  was  copied 
into  the  Advocate  and  Journal  of  1858,  page  120.  We 
select  a  portion  of  this  marvelous  speech.  He  says:  "I 

»Ziou's  Herald  of  1858  p.  96. 

4 Central  Christian  Advocate  for  1858,  p.  106. 


112  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

recollect  that  at  the  General  Conference  in  St.  Louis  [1854] 
when  it  was  proposed  to  take  out  of  the  Discipline  the 
section  on  slavery,  that  although  I  had  always  regarded 
that  section  as  evil,  and  only  evil;  and  although  the  Con- 
ference desired  that  it  should  be  put  out,  yet  I  doubted 
whether  the  time  had  come,  and  I  now  believe  that  if  the 
General  Conference  had  voted  to  put  out  that  section  it 
would  have  produced  an  unhappy  state  of  things.  But  at 
the  next  General  Conference  it  did  go  out  peaceably,  and 
without  injury  to  the  Church  any  where." 

He  says  further:  "This  rule  is  ambiguous  in  its  phrase- 
ology, and  liable  to  be  misunderstood,  and  on  this  account, 
as  well  as  for  other  reasons,  brethren  strongly  desire  to  re- 
move it  from  the  book." 

From  the  conclusion  of  his  elaborate  essay  on  the  rule 
we  make  the  following  extracts  :  "  I  know  not  that  this  rule 
ever  did  us  any  good ;  but  I  am  sure  that  it  never  did  us 
a  hundredth  part  of  the  harm  that  the  legislation  of  the 
Church  on  the  subject  of  slavery  has  done.  From  the  very 
first,  the  legislation  of  the  Church  on  slavery  has  been  evil, 
only  evil,  and  that  continually.  I  have  always  been  op- 
posed to  that  legislation.  If  slavery  be  an  evil,  it  is  im- 
possible for  the  Church  to  remedy  that  evil.  What  does 
the  legislation  of  the  Church  propose?  Nothing  more  nor 
less  than  the  extirpation  of  the  evil  of  slavery.  Did  it  ever 
enter  into  the  minds  of  these  legislators  that  their  acts 
could  extirpate  slavery?  But,  sir,  that  section  is  gone 
from  the  Discipline  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South,  and  I  bless  God  that  it  is.  ...  0,  brethren,  be 
united.  Cling  to  the  great  elementary  principles  of  the 
Gospel  as  embodied  in  the  Wesleyan  system.  Keep  to  the 
old  landmarks  of  primitive  Methodism." 

In  1854  the  General  Rule  on  slavery  was  interpreted  as 
referring  to  the  African-  slave-trade ;  now,  as  it  is  expunged, 


EVENTS  OF  1858.  113 

therefore,  to  enter  on  this  trade  would  be  admissible,  ac- 
cording to  this  exposition. 

3.  The  presence  of  the  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  Missouri,  after  1848,  was  exceedingly  of- 
fensive to  the  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South  and  their  pro-slavery  political  friends.  Dr.  M'Anally, 
editor  of  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate,  pronounced  our 
members  covenant-breakers,  and  the  most  vituperative  lan- 
guage was  employed  in  their  denunciation.  In  his  paper 
of  January  14,  1858,  he  says : 

"  It  is  true  that  Northern  preachers  are  here  in  our 
midst — right  where  the  General  Conference  of  1844  sol- 
emnly promised  they  never  should  be ;  and  it  is  also  true, 
as  we  believe,  they  can  never  do  much  good  here.  God's 
blessings  rest  on  covenant-keepers,  not  on  covenant-breakers. 
Honorable,  God-fearing  men  keep  covenants — dishonorable 
men  break  them.  Our  side  has  kept  the  covenant,  and 
stands  where  true  Methodism  ever  stood."  Such  were  the 
general  charges  uttered  at  this  time  by  the  organs  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  and  great  exertions 
were  put  forth  to  enlist  on  their  side  the  pro-slavery  por- 
tion of  the  community.  And  this  was  one.  of  the  reasons 
put  forth  for  ridding  Missouri  and  the  South-West  of  the 
presence  of  the  members  and  preachers  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  who  would  not  be  induced  to  unite  with 
the  Southern  Church. 

Rev.  Samuel  Huffman  answered  these  and  the  like  alle- 
gations, in  a  series  of  letters  in  the  Central  Christian  Advo- 
cate for  1858,5  and  these  letters  were  published  again  in 
pamphlet  form,  and  did  good  service  to  the  cause  of  truth 
against  the  unfounded  charges  of  Dr.  M'Anally  and  his 
associates  in  the  opposition. 

Indeed,   the   report   of   the   General    Conference    of   the 

»  See  pp.  21,  29,  33,  40,  41,  45,  49,  57. 
10 


114  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  1848  showed  very  plainly 
that  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  failed  in  keep- 
ing the  covenant  comprised  in  the  adjustment  of  1844. 
There  were  conditions  in  the  arrangement  of  1844  which 
the  Southern  Church  never  complied  with;  and  for  want  of 
fulfilling  their  .part  of  the  covenant  they  were  justly  de- 
prived of  its  advantages.  It  was  stipulated  that  such  a 
state  of  things  as  was  feared  should  be  ascertained.  In 
the  place  of  this,  steps  were  taken  to  produce  what  did  not 
then  exist,  such  as  the  decision  of  the  Southern  delegates 
in  the  city  of  New  York  to  secede,  before  they  could  know 
the  state  of  things  in  the  Church.  Next,  the  modes  sub- 
sequently pursued  in  the  South  to  inflame  the  public  mind; 
and  then  there  were  severaL  conditions  of  the  plan  of  the 
General  Conference  with  which  they  never  conformed,  such 
as  the  three-fourth  vote  of  the  Annual  Conferences.6  The 
report  of  the  General  Conference  of  1848  sets  forth  in  full 
these  points. 

And,  as  many  of  our  members  were  jnoving  to  Missouri 
and  the  South-West,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  owed 
to  them  the  ministry  of  the  Word,  as  many  of  these  refused 
to  unite  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  in 
consequence  of  its  pro-slavery  character. 

4.  But  the  change  of  opinion  which  had  been  in  progress 
in  the  South  in  favor  of  slavery  since  1832,  when  Professor 
Dew  first  became  its  defender,  seems  now  to  have  come  to 
be  the  settled  creed  of  the  Southern  people. 

The  Texas  Christian  Advocate  of  this  year  confesses  that 
the  general  opinion  in  the  South  was,  that  slavery  was  a 
good  institution,  and  that  the  former  opinions  of  the  South 
were  erroneous.  It  says:  "We  do  not  deny  that  the  South 

8  Allowing  for  the  moment  that  both  parties  fulfilled  all  conditions  in  the  plan 
of  separation,  the  fact  is  that  the  Church  South  was  the  first  to  violate  that  "cov- 
enant" by  an  endeavor  to  build  up  and  maintain  a  pastoral  charge  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  South  in  the  city  of  Cincinnati. — EDITOR. 


EVENTS  OF  1858.  115 

has  changed  its  opinion  on  the   subject  of  slavery.     Once 
she  thought  it  an  evil;  she  now  thinks  differently." 

We  find  in  the  New  Orleans  Christian  Advocate,  early  in. 
this  year,  a  letter  from  a  Mr.  Cartwright,  M.  D.,  of  New 
Orleans,  to  Dr.  Cartwright,  of  Illinois,  which  declares  as 
follows: 

"But  why  class  slavery  among  the  sins  at  all,  consider- 
ing it  is  not  so  classed  in  the  Bible  ?  Why  look  for  it  to 
fall  under  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  considering  that  it 
is  not  denounced  as  a  sin  in  Holy  Writ,  and  stands  on  the 
same  footing  as  the  institution  of  marriage?  You  did  not 
derive  your  belief  in  the  sinfulness  of  slavery  from  any 
thing  you  read  in  the  Bible,  and  I  am  sure  you  did  not 
derive  it  from  the  writings,  lectures,  or  preaching  of  the 
modern  abolitionists.  You  brought  the  belief  with  you 
from  Virginia  and  the  South.  In  former  times  a  great 
many  people  in  the  slaveholding  States  regarded  negro 
slavery  as  a  social,  moral,  and  political  evil.  They  were 
led  to  this  belief  principally  from  abstract  or  theoretical 
reasoning  founded  on  the  assumption  that  the  negro  was  a 
being  like  themselves,  except  in  the  color  of  the  skin. 
My  father  and  a  great  many  others  fell  into  this  error,  and 
emancipated  their  slaves.  But  experience  proved,  not  only 
in  Virginia,  but  in  other  States,  that  emancipation,  so  far 
from  bettering  jbhe  condition  of  the  negro,  almost  invariably 
made  it  worse." 

Such  views  led  them  to  consider  negroes  as  beasts,  and  to 
treat  them  accordingly.  A  candidate  for  high  office  this  very 
year,  in  his  stump  speeches,  expresses  himself  as  follows : 

"Slaves  are  property.  A  man  is  as  much  entitled  to  the 
Increase  of  his  property,  as  to  the  property  itself.  It  is  not 
competent  for  the  Legislature  to  declare  that  the  colts  and 
calves,  born  on  your  farm  one  year  hence,  shall  belong  to 
me,  or  shall  become  the  property  of  the  State,  or  shall 


116  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

belong  to  no  body.  The  mares  and  the  cows  being  yours, 
the  colts  and  calves  are  yours  also,  and  the  Legislature  has 
no  more  right  to  confiscate  the  one  than  the  other.  If 
Fanny  is  a  slave  and  my  property,  Fanny's  children  belong 
to  me  also,  and,  the  Legislature  can  no  more  take  Fanny's 
children  from  me  than  it  can  take  Fanny  herself." 

This  sentiment  is  from  the  old  heathen  Roman  law, 
whose  maxim  is,  " Partus  sequitur  ventrem."  "The  child 
follows  the  condition  of  the  mother."  As  this  can  not,  in 
modesty,  be  translated  except  as  above,  a  paraphrase  will 
be  necessary  to  explain  it.  As  slavery  entirely  excludes 
marriage,  and  therefore  establishes  promiscuous  intercourse 
of  the  sexes,  the  father  is  never  a  known  person,  in  law  or 
in  social  society,  and  the  mother  is  a  mere  productrix 
and  a  nurse,  and  the  child,  after  that,  is  not  the  mother's, 
but  the  master's,  just  as  his  colts  and  calves  are  his.  Of 
this  class  of  persons,  doubtless,  was  Melchisedeck,  who 
was  without  father  or  mother.  That  is,  he  was  originally 
a  slave,  but,  providentially,  he  arose  to  be  king  over  a 
freed  colony,  who,  like  himself,  had  been  freed,  and  who 
chose  him  as  their  chief  or  king. 

But  the  maxim  does  not  apply  to  negroes  alone,  as  many 
white  persons  now,  in  consequence  of  this  principle,  become 
slaves.  There  is  a  remarkable  technical  expression  on  this 
in  the  English  law,  in  very  clumsy  and  unclassical  Latin, 
to  the  import  that  the  colt  of  a  mare  belongs  to  the  owner 
of  its  dam,  and  not  to  the  owner  of  its  sire.  The  Roman 
and  English  laws  agreed  precisely  with  the  American  laws 
when  slavery  existed  in  these  countries.  These  English  and 
Roman  laws  were  coeval  with  slavery,  and  we  find  in  the 
convention  of  Virginia,  about  1832,  when  emancipation  was 
discussed,  that  an  old  Virginian  broached  and  referred  to 
the  same  principle  that  governed  pro-slavery  England  and 
Rome,  and  enlarged  the  range  of  argument,  remarking  that 


EVENTS  OF  1858.  117 

it  was  just  and  proper  to  transfer  the  reasons  for  the  own- 
ership of  colts  and  calves  to  the  young  Fannies,  for  when 
men  even  cultivated  fields  they  were  entitled  to  the  crops 
raised. 

Such  are  the  low  and  corrupt  teachings  of  the  slave  sys- 
tem in  every  land  where  it  prevails.  There  being  no  mar- 
riage, bastardy  follows,  and  manners  so  corrupt  as  even  to 
shame  heathendom,  in  many  cases. 

5.  At  this  time  there  was  considerable  discussion  respect- 
ing the  state  of  our  Church  in  the  border  Conferences, 
that  is,  those  in  whole  or  in  part  in  slave  territory,  such 
as  the  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  West  Virginia,  Kentucky, 
and  Missouri  Conferences.  There  is  no  need  of  indorsing 
much  that  was  said  on  both  sides;  but  our  brethren  in  these 
Conferences  were  assailed  with  much  censure  by  those  fur- 
ther North.  Even  where  emancipation  was  greatly  impeded 
by  State  laws  the  influence  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  was  great  in  promoting  emancipation,  and  in  ele- 
vating the  condition  of  slaves.  Without  allowing  ourselves 
to  be  misled  by  partisan  views,  let  us  look  to  the  facts  in 
the  case.  In  the  State  of  Delaware,  in  1790,  there  were 
8,887  slaves,  and  in  1850  only  2,290.  The  laws  in  this 
State  were  favorable  to  freedom,  and,  as  the  State  was 
largely  composed  of  Methodists,  their  course  and  influence 
were  on  the  side  of  freedom,  and  the  result  is  manifest  from 
the  decrease  of  slaves  and  the  increase  of  free  persons. 

In  Maryland,  in  1790,  the  free  colored  population  amounted 
to  only  8,043,  while  the  slaves  were  f03,036.  In  1850  the 
free  colored  were  74,728,  and  the  slaves  90,308.  In  Balti- 
more city,  in  1850,  the  free  colored  people  were  25,442, 
against  a  slave  population  of  2,946. 

At  this  writing — August,  1863 — we  need  scarcely  state 
that  the  antislavery  character  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  with  which  its  loyalty  is  associated,  has  had  a 


118  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

powerful  moral  influence  in  promoting  freedom  in  all  the 
border  States,  as  well  as  in  sustaining  the  Government  by 
their  undivided  and  open,  active  loyalty. 

That  there  have  been  individual  cases  of  pro-slavery 
character  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  needs  not  be 
denied  any  more  than  we  need  deny  the  apostasy  of  Judas. 
But,  on  the  whole,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  proper 
has,  from  its  organization  up  to  this  day,  been  consistently 
antislavery,  in  theory  and  practice,  and  the  result  of  this  is 
now  made  clear  by  the  events  of  the  present  war.  In  1844, 
though  at  the  expense  of  her  unity,  the  real  pro-slavery 
portion  of  the  Church  sought  a  pro-slavery  position  because 
they  could  not  secure  it  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
In  Missouri,  small  as  has  been  the  number  of  her  members, 
and  much  as  they  have  been  diminished  in  numbers  and 
depressed  by  the  pro-slavery  element,  they  have  preserved 
their  principles,  and  have  been  and  are  now  the  most  relia- 
ble portion  of  the  State  in  behalf  of  freedom. 

And  even  in  the  far  South  the  labors  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  till  she  was  thrust  out,  have  left  a  salu- 
tary influence  behind  her  among  the  many  thousands  of 
truly  religious  colored  people  who  were  gathered  into  her 
fold.  Those  now  scattered  and  peeled  remnants  of  their 
former  numbers  will  be  found  to  form  the  nuclei  of  the 
numerous  Methodist  Churches  that  will  yet  flourish  in  the 
South. 

6.  In  the  tide  of  Northern  immigration  to  Missouri  were 
many  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and, 
owing  to  the  circumstances,  very  many  of  these  cast  in  their 
lot  with  the  Southern  Methodists,  and  were  thus  lost  to  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  a  time  when  their  numbers 
and  influence  were  greatly  needed  for  sustaining  it.  The 
circumstances  were  peculiar,  and  these  peculiarities  misled 
many. 


EVENTS  OF  1858.  119 

Many  were  not  aware  of,  or  were  poorly  informed  as  to 
the  existence  of  two  Methodist  Churches  in  Missouri,  and 
hence  they  could  scarcely  be  informed  as  to  the  true  char- 
acter of  the  Southern  Church,  that  it  was  a  pro-slavery 
Church  in  principle  and  practice.  The  Southern  Method- 
ists would  say  to  these  Northern  immigrants  that  they  were 
neither  for  nor  against  slavery,  and  while  in  one  breath  they 
said  it  was  a  civil  institution,  in  the  next  it  would  be  said 
that  it  is  authorized  by  Scripture.  Thus,  with  various 
sophistries,  the  new  immigrants  were  led  into  the  snare 
which  was  laid  for  them.  The  periodical  press  of  the  South 
also  sustained  slavery  to  the  utmost.  Dr.  Smith's  book 
was  generally  circulated,  as  was  also  Baldwin's  "Trinity 
of  Races." 

Some,  on  their  arrival  in  Missouri,  have  been  met  with 
the  statement  that  they  belonged  to  the  Church,  North,  or 
to  the  Northern  Methodist  Church.  This  term  has  been 
employed  with  great  address  by  those  illy  disposed  toward 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  very  many  have  been 
seduced  from  their  proper  Church  connections  by  the  soph- 
istry connected  with  its  use.  Southern  Methodists  were 
accustomed,  when  it  would  give  effect  to  their  representa- 
tions, to  omit  the  word  South  from  the  name  of  their  Church, 
and  to  speak  of  it  in  such  a  way  as  to  ignore  the  existence 
of  any  other  Methodist  Church.  But,  when  it  suited  them 
to  speak  directly  of  our  Church,  they  invariably  spoke  of  it 
as  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  North,  or  The  Northern 
Methodist  Church,  uttering  the  word  North  or  Northern 
with  a  derisive  emphasis  which  must  be  heard  to  be  appre- 
ciated, and  which  is  inimitable  by  those  not  burdened  with 
their  sectional  prejudices.  The  Southern  preachers  began 
this  misnaming  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  They 
taught  it  to  their  people.  Preachers  and  people  taught  it 
to  other  Churches  and  the  outside  world.  It  is  a  strange 


120  SOUTH-WESTEKN  METHODISM. 

spectacle  to  see  grave  divines — by  a  hateful  misnomer — ca- 
tering to  seething  prejudices  which  they  themselves  have 
fostered,  if  not,  indeed,  planted.  Such  a  course,  persisted 
in  toward  the  uninformed,  can  only  be  adjudged,  by  the 
broadest  charity,  to  lie  so  near  a  habit  of  falsehood  as  to 
be  poisoned  throughout  by  its  grossness.  Well,  we  give 
them  joy  in  their  fond  prevarication.  It  will,  at  least, 
afford  us  amusement,  since  it  reminds  of  the  fabled  fox, 
who,  falling  upon  a  steel-trap  and  thereby  losing  his  tail, 
called  a  council  of  his  comrades,  and  labored  long  and  hard 
to  persuade  them  that,  after  all,  the  tail  was  a  useless  and 
cumbrous  appendage,  and  that,  they  had  better  adopt  his 
style.  Our  friends,  in  an  evil  day,  attached  the  unhappy, 
ill-fated  appendage  South  to  their  name,  and  now  the  only 
consolation  and  relief  to  them  in  their  dilemma  seems  to 
lie  in  a  persistent  effort  to  drum  their  innocent  neighbors 
into  the  same  fashion. 

Another  plea  has  been  very  successful  in  leading  our 
members  into  the  Church  South.  The  resident  Southern 
Methodists  were  numerous,  influential,  and  wealthy.  The 
immigrants,  at  least  many  of  them,  were  poor,  and  relied 
on  their  business  or  trade  for  a  livelihood.  It  was  repre- 
sented to  them  that,  if  they  united  with  the  Northern  abo- 
lition Church,  they  could  never  be  respected  by  reputable 
society,  nor  could  they  engage  successfully  in  business. 
This  was  a  powerful  argument  with  too  many,  as  the  his- 
tory shows,  and  misled  numbers  from  the  Church  of  their 
better  choice. 

So  serious  was  this  evil  that  the  Missouri  Conference  of 
this  year  passed  the  following  resolution: 

"  That  we  hereby  earnestly  and  affectionately  request  oui 
brethren  of  other  Conferences,  in  dismissing  from  their 
charges  by  letter  members  who  intend  migrating  to  Mis- 
souri, that  they  be  at  the  pains  to  inform  them  that,  under 


EVENTS  OF  1858.  121 

the  blessing  of  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church,  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church  in  this  State  is  living  and  thriving, 
and  urge  upon  them  the  propriety  of  attaching  themselves 
to  our  Church  here  immediately  upon  their  arrival." 

The  quarterly  conference  of  Ridgely  circuit,  Platte  county, 
took  up  this  subject  early  in  the  Spring,  and  passed  a  pre- 
amble and  resolutions  on  the  subject.  They  state  that  very 
many  of  our  members  remain  out  of  the  Church  altogether; 
that  many  have  backslidden,  waiting  to  see  what  the  sur- 
roundings of  the  Church  would  be.  Some  wandered  into 
the  communion  of  other  Churches,  where  they  were  less 
happy  and  useful  than  they  would  be  in  the  Church  of 
their  choice. 

Moreover,  several  preachers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  saw  fit  to  unite  with  the  Southern  Church,  and  thus 
strengthen  their  cause  and  weaken  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  Some  of  these  came  to  serve  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  and  united,  afterward,  with  the  Southern 
Church.  As  an  instance,  we  may  mention  Rev.  Mr.  Bar- 
rett, who  came  from  the  Pittsburg  Conference,  was  stationed 
in  St.  Louis,  but  subsequently  joined  the  Southern  Church, 
and  now  edits  a  disloyal  paper  in  Missouri.  Mr.  White, 
who  came  also  from  Pittsburg,  and  was  subsequently  in  the 
Illinois,  then  in  the  Rock  River  Conference,  came  to  Mis- 
souri and  united  with  the  Southern  Church,  and  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war,  in  consequence  of  his  Union  sentiments, 
was  compelled  to  flee  from  his  pastoral  charge  in  Lexington. 
Quite  a  number  of  cases  of  this  kind  occurred,  which  we 
have  not  time  or  space  to  notice. 

On  the  whole,  we  suffered  greatly  in  temporary  force  and 
effect,  on  society  at  least,  from  the  combined  influences  of 
both  preachers  and  members  who  abandoned  our  cause  and 
threw  all  their  influence  into  the  scale  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  South.  Besides,  the  political  influence 

11  " 


122  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

was  against  our  Church,  as  our  people  were  considered  as 
in  opposition  to  the  ruling  power,  whether  this  was  the  case 
or  not.  The  social  influences  of  the  various  localities  were 
against  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  wer£  used  to 
throw  into  the  shade  every  thing  respecting  it.  The  com- 
mercial and  business  portions  of  the  communities  were  in 
the  opposition,  so  that  our  people,  either  as  partners  or 
ernploy6s,  were  denied  the  usual  influences  arising  from 
their  number  and  qualifications.  The  religious  bodies  of 
Missouri  had  no  welcome  for  us.  The  Churches  qf  the 
State  were,  in  the  main,  on  the  side  of  slavery,  in  their 
several  aggregates,  and  our  real  character  was  an  objection. 
We  had  the  odium  of  being  abolitionists,  and  this  was  an 
insufferable  stench  under  their  exquisitely  sensitive  olfacto- 
ries, cultivated  and  long  soothed  by  the  odoriferous  offices 
and  relations  of  African  vassalage. 

Such  is  a  brief  survey  of  the  situation  at  that  time.  Our 
cause  in  Missouri  suffered  much  more  than  can  well  be  es- 
timated from  the  many  transfers  to  the  Southern  Church 
of  our  members  emigrating  to  this  State,  who  thus,  instead 
of  strengthening  their  once-cherished  Church,  weakened  it 
by  uniting  with  its  principal  opposer.  The  true  men  of 
those  times  remember  even  now  the  unprincipled  desertions 
of  many  of  these  persons  with  a  feeling  of  pity,  if  nothing 
more.  One,  not  observant  of  the  effect,  could  scarcely  cal- 
culate the  force  of  the  adverse  influences  encountered  by 
our  denomination.  These,  as  mentioned  above,  may  be 
classed  as  the  political,  the  business  and  commercial,  the 
social,  and  the  ecclesiastical.  They  are  both  a  direct  and 
indirect  sway  over  the  condition  of  those  against  whom 
they  were  exercised. 

7.  As  the  reenslavement  of  free  colored  persons  had  been 
proposed  and  attempted  by  some  Southern  States,  for  sev- 
eral years  prior,  the  movement  was  renewed  this  year  in 


EVENTS  OF  1858.  123 

Maryland,  and  threatened  to  spread  over  all  the  border 
States.  And  as  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  had  stood 
in  firm  opposition  to  it  in  Maryland,  it  cast  an  odium  on 
the  Church  in  Missouri  and  the  South-West,  and  occasioned 
great  opposition  to  her  from  the  slaveholders.  A  similar 
attempt  was  made  in  1841-2  in  Maryland,  a  brief  survey 
of  which  may  be  proper. 

A  convention  met  in  Maryland,  in  1841,  in  order  to 
induce  the  Legislature  to  pass  "  an  act  for  the  better  secur- 
ity of  negro  slaves,  and  for  promoting  industry  and  hon- 
esty among  the  free  people  of  color."  Such  was  the  plea; 
but  the  mature  design  was  to  reduce  the  free  colored  peo- 
ple to  slavery  or  expel  them  from  the  State.  The  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  and  the  Methodist  Protestant  .Churches 
interposed  by  petition.  Memorials  were  signed  and  for- 
warded by  them  to  the  General  Assembly,  expressing  strong 
opposition  to  the  contemplated  measure.  Bishop  Waugh 
and  Rev.  Robert  Emory  bore  the  memorials  from  Baltimore 
to  Annapolis.  Public  meetings  were  held  in  the  principal 
Methodist  Churches  in  Baltimore,  and  speeches  were  de- 
livered in  opposition  to  the  movement.  Judge  Hopper,  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  a  slaveholder,  drew  up 
the  paper  which  was  read  at  the  Baltimore  meetings,  and 
made  appropriate  comments.  This  opposition,  principally 
by  the  Methodists,  aided  by  others,  arrested  the  enactment 
of  the  contemplated  law. 

A  meeting,  similar  to  the  convention  above  alluded  to, 
was  held  at  the  court-house  at  Cambridge,  Md.,  at  which 
a  /preamble  and  resolutions  were  adopted.  They  stated 
that,  considering  the  present  laws,  it  was  impossible  to 
control  and  regulate  the  negro  community  in  a  proper  man- 
ner; that  the  free  negroes  were  idle  and  dissipated,  and 
their  example  made  the  slaves  dissatisfied  and  worthless, 
and  that  they  aided  the  slaves  to  make  their  escape.  They 


124  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM- 

concluded  in  their  resolutions,  that  free  and  slave  labor 
were  incompatible,  and  that  prompt  and  effective  legislation 
was  absolutely  necessary  in  order  to  secure  the  interests  of 
the  people.  Such  were  the  brief  points  in  this  endeavor  to 
reenslave  the  free  negroes.  The  members  and  ministers  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  took  an  active  part  in  de- 
feating this  step  of  cruel  despotism  and  injustice. 

In  the  discussion  on  this  subject  it  was  shown  that  out 
of  20,000  colored  people  in  Baltimore,  a  large  number 
paid  taxes;  that  upward  of  500  were  owners  of  real  estate; 
that  they  had  then  over  $16,000  in  the  treasuries  of  their 
benevolent  societies  for  the  relief  of  their  own  people.7 

The  odium  of  this  opposition  to  slavery  in  Maryland  was 
readily  transferred  along  the  border  by  slaveholders,  and 
reached  Missouri  and  the  South-West.  And  this  was  one 
of  those  causes  that  led  subsequently  to  the  opposition  to, 
and  persecution  of,  the  members  and  ministers  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  in  Missouri,  Arkansas,  and  Texas. 

»  See  Central  Christian  Advocate,  p.  186. 


EVENTS  OF  1859.  125 


CHAPTER   VII. 

EVENTS  OF  1859. 

1.  As  a  historical  decision  on  the  profligacy  of  Southern 
Methodists,  we  adduce  the  recorded  testimony  of  the  Rich- 
mond Christian  Advocate  to  the  soundness  of  Dr.  Smith's 
book  on  the  subject  of  slavery.  The  Advecate  fully  in- 
dorses it,  and  says: 

"The  treatise  contains  the  component  elements  of  sound 
public  opinion,  which  need  only  to  be  understood  to  become 
universally  popular,  and  to  be  applied  properly  to  elevate 
our  political  and  social  conditions.  It  would  be  counteract- 
ive of  the  process  of  abolitionism,  which  can  not  advance 
without  producing  immense  mischief;  and  would  that  that 
already  caused  could  be  forgiven  and  forgotten!  It  would 
invigorate  the  life-tide  of  our  National  character,  and  ani- 
mate the  American  Churches  with  healthy  spirits.  The 
position  the  Doctor  takes  in  social,  political,  and  moral  sci- 
ence is  impregnable,  and  furnishes  the  only  true  and  per- 
manent basis  of  domestic  slavery  and  civil  government  of 
any  land." 

Dr.  Smith  was  the  first,  or  among  the  first,  who  contended 
that  slavery  is  right  per  se,  and  is  a  normal  and  diyine-  in- 
stitution. This  principle  overthrows  the  foundation  of  all 
true  morals.  This  book  was  issued,  and  the  repeal  of  the 
General  Rule  on  slavery  in  the  Church  South  took  place  at 
the  time  that  Southern  opinion  became  most  profligate.  The 
false  position  of  Southern  Methodises  greatly  promoted  the 
degeneracy  of  Southern  politics  on  the  question.  But  God 


126  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

and  man  will  hold  these  errorists  accountable  for  these  gross 
moral  heresies.  We  need  not  wonder  that  mobs,  murders, 
and  expatriations  took  place  when  such  views  as  these  were 
proclaimed  and  indorsed. 

2.  The  storm  thus  raised  by  the  false  teachings  of  the 
South  began  to  spread  with  great  fury  in  the  South-West, 
especially  in  Texas.  The  Central  Christian  Advocate  was 
withheld  or  destroyed  by  postmasters  and  their  hirelings, 
and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  especially  regarded 
as  a  dangerous  intruder  into  slave  territory.  A  long  list  of 
principles  and  deeds  were  attributed  to  her  which  she  never 
believed  or  practiced,  such  as  stealing  negroes,  inducing 
them  to  leave  their  masters,  as  well  as  direct  political  in- 
terference, none  of  which  had  any  foundation  in  fact.  Cer- 
tainly our  Church  aimed  at  extirpating  slavery,  but  it  was 
to  be  done  only  by  moral  means,  and  sound  religious  teach- 
ing and  discipline;  and  the  course  of  the  Church,  pursued 
from  its  organization  in  1784  up  to  1859,  a  space  of  seventy- 
five  years,  never,  in  any  instance,  disturbed  the  civil  laws, 
and  it  was  notorious  that  in  no  instance  did  any  of  our 
preachers  engage  in  inducing  slaves  to  leave  their  masters, 
much  as  they  hated  the  institution.  The  secret  of  the  mat- 
ter is,  notwithstanding  the  bluster  of  slaveholders,  they  feared 
the  proclamation  of  the  truth,  not  in  its  inducing  slaves  to 
run  away,  but  in  its  impressing  the  consciences  of  slave- 
holders and  others  with  the  conviction  that  it  was  sinful  to 
support  such  a  system. 

Accordingly  we  find  on  the  4th  of  March,  1859,  at  Mill- 
wood, Collin  county,  Texas,  a  meeting  was  held  in  which  it 
was  complained  that  certain  sentiments  were  entertained  by 
Northern  Methodists  in  regard  to  slavery,  and  that,  while 
they  profess  to  be  for  peace,  such  principles  are  eminently 
calculated  to  excite  the  deepest  alarm,  and  are  in  violation 
of  the  laws  of  their  country.  The  proceedings  were  pub- 


EVENTS  OP  1859.  127 

lished  in  the  Bonham  Independent,  which  editorially  says: 
"We  kindly  warn  these  people  to  beware,  lest,  in  an  hour 
when  they  least  expect  it,  they  will  be  visited  by  citizens  en- 
tertaining adverse  sentiments."  The  meeting  also  appointed 
a  committee  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  who  should,  as  spies, 
ascertain  the  sentiments  of  our  people  by  attending  our 
preaching  and  other  places. 

Matters  stood  thus  when  the  Arkansas  Conference  con- 
vened, near  Bonham,  on  Friday,  llth  of  March.  During 
the  session  of  the  llth  two  preachers  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  South,  Messrs.  Dickson  and  Porter,  at- 
tended as  observers,  spies,  or  reporters,  which  of  these  we 
say  not. 

On  Saturday,  12th  inst.,  a  town  and  county  meeting  was 
held  in  Bonham,  Fannin  county,  in  reference  to  the  Con- 
ference. 

A  General  Green  stated  the  object  of  the  meeting,  re- 
marking that  it  was  known  that  there  was  an  organization 
of  the  Northern  Methodists  in  that  region,  and  that  it  was 
increasing,  by  accessions  of  members  and  preachers  from 
the  Northern  States,  so  as  to  endanger  the  security  of  slave 
property — that  the  avowed  object  of  the  Church  was  its  ex- 
tirpation. As  proof  of  this  he  called  on  a  Missouri  border 
ruffian  to  read  resolutions  from  official  documents  of  the 
Northern  Conferences,  adopted  at  their  annual  meetings  of 
1858,  and  Mr.  Green  argued  that  they  could  not  be  engaged 
in  putting  down  a  greater  evil  than  the  Northern  Method- 
ists, and  that  such  was  the  object  of  the  present  meeting. 

Judge  Roberts,  a  Southern  Methodist,  said  that  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  South  differed  from  the  Northern 
Church  only  on  the  slavery  question,  and  that  this  organi- 
zation, coming  here  from  the  North  and  presided  over  by 
Northern  men,  should  not  be  tolerated  by  the  people.  He 
said  he  was  not  in  favor  of  mob  law,  but  it  was  necessary 


128  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

the  people  should  take  decisive  measures.  Let  them  act 
mildly,  but  firmly. 

A  committee  of  three,  namely,  Mr.  Green,  Judge  Roberts, 
and  John  M.  Crane,  was  appointed  to  draw  up  resolutions. 
In  their  absence  several  addressed  the  meeting  in  a  strain 
similar  to  that  of  Mr.  Green  and  Roberts.  Rev.  A.  W. 
Brown,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  said  that 
"he  was  gratified  to  see  that  decisive  measures  were  to  be 
taken  at  last  against  that  organization.  He  had  watched 
its  growth  from  the  first,  and  could  see  nothing  to  do  but 
what  was  being  done  for  the  destruction  of  those  injuries  to 
our  cause.  'He  was  in  possession  of  the  resolutions  adopted 
by  the  Conferences  of  the  North,  proving  this  Church  to  be 
abolition  to  the  core." 

We  transcribe  the  preamble  and  resolutions  adopted  by 
the  meeting.  They  are  as  follows: 

"  Whereas,  a  secret  foe  lurks  in  our  midst,  known  as  the 
Northern  Methodist  Church,  entertaining  sentiments  antag- 
onistic to  the  institution  of  slavery,  and  the  manifest  inten- 
tion of  whose  Northern  coadjutors  is  to  do  away  with  slavery 
in  these  United  States;  and,  whereas,  the  further  growth  of 
this  enemy  would  be  likely  to  endanger  the  perpetuity  of 
that  institution  in  Texas;  and,  whereas,  sentiments  diamet- 
rically opposed  to  the  interests  of  the  South  have  this  day 
been  publicly  proclaimed  upon  our  streets  by  a  minister  of 
said  Northern  Methoxlist  Church;  therefore,  be  it 

"  1.  Resolved,  That,  the  Methodist  Church  having  sepa- 
rated into  divisions,  North  and  South,  the  organization  of  a 
Northern  branch  of  that  Church  in  our  State  as  a  screen 
behind  which  to  hide  the  emissaries  of  a  Northern  political 
faction  known  as  abolitionists  is  dangerous  to  our  interests, 
and  ought  not,  therefore,  to  be  tolerated  by  the  people  of 
Texas. 

"2.  That  the  public  denunciation   of  the  institution  of 


EVENTS  OF  1859.  129 

slavery,  and  the  public  action,  by  a  minister  of  their  Church, 
to  the  effect  that  the  Northern  Methodists  designed  the  ex- 
tirpation of  that  institution  in  our  land,  heard  in  our  streets 
this  day,  was  a  gross  insult  to  our  people,  and  should  be 
boldly  and  summarily  resented. 

"3.  That  the  teaching  and  preaching  of  the  ministers  of 
that  Church  do  not  meet  the  views  of  the  people  of  Fannin 
county,  and  must  therefore  be  stopped. 

"4.  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  memorialize  the 
Legislature  to  pass  laws  to  punish  the  utterance  of  such 
seditious  sentiments  as  are  mentioned  in  resolution  second, 
and  that  other  counties  be  earnestly  called  on  to  consider 
the  matter. 

"5.  That  a  suitable  committee  be  appointed  to  wait  on 
the  bishop  and  ministers  now  in  Conference  assembled,  on 
Timber  Creek,  in  this  county,  and  warn  them  to  withhold 
the  further  prosecution  of  said  Conference,  as  its  continu- 
ance will  be  well  calculated  to  endanger  the  peace  of  this 
community. 

"6.  That  our  motto  be,  Peaceably  if  we  can,  forcibly  if 
we  must. 

"7.  That  we  hereby  bind  ourselves  to  cooperate  in  the 
future  to  do  all  we  can  to  suppress  abolitionism  in  our  midst, 
and  that  henceforth  we  will  suffer  no  public  expression  of 
abolition  doctrines  or  sentiments  in  our  streets  or  county  to 
go  unpunished." 

A  committee  of  fifty  persons  was  then  appointed  to  visit 
the  Conference  on  Sunday,  and  to  meet  on  Monday  again 
and  report.  Among  the  committee  we  find  Rev.  A.  W. 
Brown,  of  the  Southern  Methodist  Church,  and  Rev.  Sam- 
uel M'Kee,  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church. 

The  Conference,  as  usual,  had  their  love-feast  on  Sunday, 
and  at  the  conclusion  of  it  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.  At  11  o'clock  Bishop  Janes  commenced  the  public 


130  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

service,  the  house  not  being  full.  While  he  was  reading 
the  Scripture  lessons  the  committee  were  advancing  toward 
the  house,  with  their  associates,  amounting  to  some  two 
hundred,  on  horseback,  marching  in  order,  and  armed  with 
revolvers  and  bowie-knives.  During  prayer  they  gathered 
around  the  house.  While  the  congregation  was  singing  the 
second  hymn,  as  many  as  could  crowded  into  the  house. 
When  the  Bishop  began  to  give  out  his  text,  the  spokes- 
man of  the  mob,  Judge  Roberts,  standing  half-way  up  the 
aisle,  said,  "Do  I  address  the  Bishop?"  The  Bishop  con- 
tinued giving  out  his  text..  He  repeated,  "Do  I  address 
the  Bishop?"  The  Bishop  replied,  "I  am  a  bishop  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church."  He  then  said,  "I  have  an 
unpleasant  duty  to  perform,  and  I  presume  it  will  be  equally 
unpleasant  to  you."  He  then  described  the  meeting  which 
sent  him,  looked  around  and  referred  to  the  committee,  his 
associates,  and  called  on  one  of  them  to  read  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  meeting. 

When  the  reading  was  ended,  he  resumed  his  remarks, 
commenting  on  and  sustaining  the  resolutions,  and  con- 
cluded his  harangue  by  saying  that,  unless  our  Church 
should  cease  to  operate  in  Texas,  blood  would  be  shed,  and 
the  responsibility  would  be  on  the  Bishop  and  Conference. 
He  would  not  allow  of  any  discussion,  but  two  hours  would 
be  given  them  to  form  an  answer.  The  Judge  was  excited, 
and  his  address  inflammatory.  As  he  began  to  withdraw, 
Bishop  Janes  asked  his  name.  He  stopped,  and  said  his 
name  was  Roberts.  The  Bishop  then  remarked  that  the 
time  was  too  short,  that  the  topic  was  not  just  one  for  Sab- 
bath consideration,  that  the  Conference  was  not  then  in 
session,  etc.  But  the  Judge  said  no  longer  time  could  be 
given,  and  left  the  house. 

After  the  Bishop  had  preached,  and  the  ordination  serv- 
ices were  finished,  the  Bishop,  and  preachers,  and  the  lay 


EVENTS  OF  1859.  131 

brethren  had  an  informal  meeting,  at  which  it  was  con- 
cluded that,  as  the  laity  were  concerned,  the  next  quarterly 
conference  should  be  consulted  as  to  this  occasion,  and  the 
preachers  present  agreed  to  suspend  their  services  till  the 
mind  of  the  laity  could  be  consulted  and  obtained,  and  that 
was  to  decide  their  course.  This  information  was  conveyed 
to  the  mob,  and  they  dispersed  for  the  time  being. 

On  Monday  another  meeting  was  held  at  the  court-house, 
when  the  committee  before  named  reported,  and  many 
speeches  were  made.  Taking  into  view  \the  whole,  the 
great  sin  of  our  people  was  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  was  antislavery,  and  the  Southern  Methodists  were 
pro-slavery.  Judge  Roberts  said,  "  They  differed  from  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  only  on  the  subject  of 
slavery.  Holding  connection  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  being  prospered  and  increasing  in  numbers, 
was  the  cause  of  the  abusive  treatment  which  the  Confer- 
ence received."  This  was  the  "head  and  front  of  their 
offending." 

On  Monday,  14th,  the  Conference  reassembled,  according 
to  adjournment,  finished  its  business,  united  in  devotion, 
and  adjourned  sine  die. 

3.  The  defense  of  the  outrage  on  the  Arkansas  Confer- 
ence, by  Judge  Roberts,  only  confirms  the  opinion,  that  to 
be  a  member  or  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  Texas,  was  crime  enough  to  call  forth  the  aid  of  mobs 
to  drive  one  out  of  the  country,  without  the  authority  of 
civil  law.  The  Bonham  Weekly  Era,  of  July  23d,  contains 
the  statement  of  Bishop  Janes  and  the  answer  of  Judge 
Roberts  to  it.  Without  noticing  the  carping  of  the  Judge 
on  some  expressions  of  the  Bishop,  we  find  in  his  reply  the 
following  declarations  still  adhered  to :  "  We  demanded  a 
categorical  answer  to  the  resolutions  requiring  the  ministers 
of  his  Church  henceforth  to  cease  their  ministerial  functions 


132  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

in  our  country.  I  begged  the  Bishop  would  not  allow  him- 
self to  be  cheated  into  the  belief  that  this  was  the  move- 
ment of  a  few  idle,  dissolute  malcontents,  but  assured  him 
that  the  wealth,  the  talent,  and  the  best  elements  of  our 
society  were  in  it,  with  a  unanimity  unprecedented.  .  .  . 
The  Northern  and  Southern  Methodists  differ  on  nothing 
except  on  the  slavery  question.  We  know  the  position  of 
the  Northern  Church  on  that  subject.  No  one  living  in 
the  South  need  adhere  to  the  Northern  branch  of  the 
Church,  then,  upon  conscientious  scruples,  save  on  that  one 
point  alone,  there  being  no  other  difference.  He  must  be 
conscientiously  opposed  to  the  institution  of  slavery,  or  an 
imbecile,  to  persist  in  his  adherence  to  the  North,  while 
living  in  the  South.  He  must  mean  to  teach  the  eradica- 
tion, or,  in  other  words,  the  abolition  of  slavery ;  and, 
therefore,  a  Church,  claiming  such  privileges,  could  not, 
and  would  not  be  tolerated  among  us ;  that  we  were  not 
disposed  to  sit  quietly  by  till  they  had  located  themselves 
firmly  in  our  midst,  when  it  would  be  too  late  to  help  our- 
selves ;  that  we  thought  we  knew  our  rights,  and  intended 
to  maintain  them."  Such  are  the  points  insisted  on  by 
Judge  Roberts,  and  they  are  the  same  as  those  which  the 
mob  assumed,  whose  leader  and  expositor  he  condescended 
to  be,  without  considering,  it  seems,  how  greatly  he  defiled 
the  ermine  of  his  profession  by  doing  so. 

Such  is  the  defense  of  the  mob  by  its  leader,  and  it  is 
the  best  he  could  give  of  this  disgraceful  act.  In  none  but 
slave  States  is  it  necessary  to  resort  to  violence,  rob  the 
mail,  interfere  with  assemblies  worshiping  God,  etc.,  in  or- 
der to  guard  securely  their  institutions.  But  freedom  of 
speech,  of  the  press,  or  of  worship  can  not  exist  along  side 
of  slavery.  Every  thing  inconsistent  with  the  interests  of 
slaveholders  must  be  suppressed  at  once  and  at  any  cost. 
The  Church  itself  is  a  chattel,  and  its  ministers  must  be 


EVENTS  OF  1859.  133 

dumb  unless  they  choose  to  speak  as  their  masters  dic- 
tate. 

Hence  it  became  the  settled  policy  in  Texas  that  no  min- 
ister or  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  should 
reside  in  the  country,  unless  they  renounced  the  doctrines 
of  their  Church,  and  as  proof  of  this  united  with  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  South.  Some  did  so.  Many  re- 
fused ;  and  most  of  these  emigrated  to  Kansas,  California, 
or  Oregon,  or  fled  to  the  free  States  from  whence  they  re- 
moved. This  was  fully  exemplified  in  thousands  of  cases, 
and  the  violence  of  the  next  year  was  the  crowning  proof 
of  the  prevalence  of  these  unscriptural  and  unpatriotic 
principles. 

Alas,  how  are  the  mighty  fallen  !  Up  to  1844  the  South- 
ern Methodists  generally  avowed  themselves  to  be  anti- 
slavery.  In  1835  Rev.  Samuel  Dunwoody  first  openly 
quoted  Scripture  to  support  the  institution.  In  1836  in 
Cincinnati,  in  our  hearing,  he  repeated  his  pro-slavery  ar- 
gument, on  which  the  Southern  preachers  hung  down  their 
heads  with  shame.  But  after  their  severance  from  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  1845,  there  seems  to  have 
been  a  general  departure  from  first  principles.  In  1854 
they  struck  out  of  their  Discipline  the  chapter  on  slavery, 
which  declared  the  Church  determined  on  its  extirpation 
or  abolition,  by  the  use  of  all  moral  and  lawful  means.  In 
1856  or  1857  Dr.  Smith  attempted  to  prove  that  slavery 
was,  per  se,  agreeable  to  Christianity.  In  1858  the  South- 
ern Church,  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  her  General  Conference, 
and  a  three-fourths  vote  of  her  Annual  Conferences,  aban- 
doned the  previous  Scriptural  testimony  of  the  Church 
agairfst  a  moral  wrong.  And  such  was  the  nature  of  the 
decision  as,  by  a  kind  of  tacit  recognition,  allows  of  the 
African  slave-trade.  And  now,  in  1859,  the  general  maxim 
becomes  a  ruling  principle,  and  no  member  or 'minister  of 


134  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  can  enjoy  their  Church 
principles  in  the  South ;  and  if  they  attempt  it  the  mob  is 
ready  to  rob  and  beat  them,  or  drive  them  out  of  the  coun- 
try, by  intimidation,  harassment,  or  main  force.  But  there 
was  one  other  way  by  which  they  could  remain  in  the 
country,  namely,  if,  Judas-like,  they  would  join  the  South- 
ern pro-slavery,  mobocratic  Church,1  and  renounce  their 
Scriptural  principles.  Such  was  the  state  of  things  in  the 
South-West  in  the  year  of  grace  1859.3 

4.  Bishop  Janes,  in  his  modest  and  truthful  account  of 
this  mob,  goes  on  to  state,  that  he  does  not  attribute  this 
mobocratic  outrage  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South,  but  only  so  far  as  she  or  her  people  have  indorsed 
it.  He  adds,  "  When  editors  or  others  apologize  for  such 
lawlessness  and  wrong,  or  speak  of  them  approvingly,  they 
become  morally  participes  criminis,  and  show  that  they  only 
need  the  opportunity  to  do  the  like  themselves.  Surely 


1  As  corroborative  of  this  surprising  statement  wo  give,  of  many  cases,  one 
which  came  to  our  personal  knowledge :  Rev.  Hiram  Hess,  a  member  of  the  Arkan- 
sas Conference  during  its  entire  existence,  informed  us,  in  1804,  that  in  the  Summer 
of  1860  an  armed  mob  of  sixty  men  came  to  his  house  in  Arkansas,  and  reviled  and 
abused  him  for  being  a  Northern  Methodist  preacher  and  an  abolitionist,  etc. ;  and 
said  they  had  come  either  to  make  him  join  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South, 
or  to  tar  and  feather  him,  and  drive  him  out  of  the  country.  He  remonstrated 
with  them  against  their  violent  and  summary  measures,  and  besought  time  for 
consideration.  He  told  them  if  they  would  spare  him  any  injury  he  would  report 
to  them  at  the  approaching  session  of  the  Southern  Conference  as  to  what  course 
he  would  adopt.  They  finally  yielded  to  his  requests,  aud  suspended  their  inhu- 
manities in  v!£w  of  his  pledge  to  report  his  conclusion  at  the  Conference,  and 
departed,  most  positively  assuring  him,  with  profane  emphasis,  that  if  he  did  not 
unite  with  the  Southern  Methodist  Church,  they  would  tar  aud  feather  him,  ride 
him  on  a  rail,  and  then  give  him  twenty-four  hours  to  leave  the  country  in,  and 
if  he  did  not  go  they  would  hang  him  !  But,  said  Mr.  Hess,  by  the  time  the  South- 
ern Conference  met,  I  had  left  that  locality,  and  put  myself  beyond  their  reach, 
and  supposed  no  further  report  was  necessary.  He  also  stated  that  in  this  select 
company  were  a  considerable  number  of  Southern  Methodists.  Mr.  Hess  made 
these  statements  when  upon  the  very  verge  of  the  grave,  from  the  abuses  and  per- 
secutions of  the  enemies  of  our  people  in  Arkansas,  and  we  believe  them  reliable. — 
EDITOR. 

a  For  the  Judge's  answer,  see  Central  Christian  Advocate  for  1859,  p.  357. 


EVENTS  OF  1859.  135 

they  will  do  themselves,  in  like  circumstances,  what  they 
commend  in  others.  Or  if  position  or  policy  should  re- 
strain them  from  the  actual  outrage,  they  would  at  least 
hold  the  clothes  of  those  who  throw  the  stones."  This  is 
truthfully  said.  But  the  following  is  said  nobly  and  mag- 
nanimously, as  if  uttered  by  one  of  the  old  martyrs : 

"  In  conclusion,  I  wish  to  express  my  thankfulness,  that 
when  the  Methodist  Church  South  has  sent  her  ministers 
to  the  free  States  to  take  the  pastoral  charge  of  such  as 
preferred  her  ministry,  they  have  never  been  mobbed.  I 
pray  they  never  may  be." 

Let  us  see  what  testimony  we  have  on  this  point: 

In  the  first  place,  we  find  that  in  no  instance  has  this 
mobocratic  course  in  reference  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  been  condemned  or  protested  against  by  any  of  the 
officials  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  or  their 
pro-slavery  allies.  If  such  protest  exists  we  have  not  seen  it, 
or  it  has  not  been  published  to  the  world.  In  the  absence 
of  any  condemnation  of  this  course  by  them,  under  all  the 
circumstances,  we  are  compelled  to  adopt  the  adage,  "Silence 
gives  consent." 

Secondly,  Judge  Roberts  virtually,  but  evasively,  justifies 
the  mobocratic  course  of  the  Southern  Methodists  by  stating 
that  they  took  no  greater  part  in  this  than  the  Baptists  and 
Presbyterians  did.  In  his  answer  to  Bishop  Janes,  of  July 
23d,  several  months  after  he  led  the  mob,  he  says: 

"The  accidental  circumstances  that  two  or  three  members 
of  the  committee  were  of  the  Church  would  no  more  prove 
it  a  Methodist  Church  movement  than  the  presence  of  Bap- 
tists and  Presbyterians  would  prove  it  a  Baptist  or  Presby- 
terian movement,  for  there  were  fully  as  many  members  of 
the  two  latter  Churches  as  of  the  former  of  the  committee." 

The  excuse  or  apology  that  Southern  Methodists  were  no 
worse  mobocrats  than  Baptists  and  Presbyterians  goes  to  say 


136  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

they  were  all  alike  in  guilt  and  in  sin  as  to  the  acts.  But 
he  forgot  that  it  was  a  mere  Southern  Methodist  mob,  got 
up  for  their  benefit,  and  supported  by  their  regular  aids, 
the  pro-slavery  Baptists,  Presbyterians,  and  other  respecta- 
ble people,  whose  police  was  the  lowest  portions  of  depraved 
Southern  society.  The  object  was  not  to  drive  away  Bap- 
tists and  Presbyterians,  but  Northern  Methodists,  for  the 
Southern  members  of  other  Churches,  at  this  time,  were  as 
pro-slavery  as  need  be,  for  we  find  there  was  no  active  anti- 
slavery  element  among  the  other  Churches  in  the  South- 
West. 

The  Texas  Christian  Advocate,  in  an  elaborate  article,  in- 
dorses the  mob  in  the  following  words: 

"We  hope  the  meeting  will  insure  the  end  designed  in  a 
manner  at  once  thorough  and  immediate.  Thorough,  be- 
cause, however  fondly  the  Northern  Church  may  cherish 
the  delusion  that  it  is  her  mission  to  extirpate  slavery  in 
the  South,  there  can  be  nothing  better  for  her  and  for  us 
than  that  she  should,  if  possible,  be  at  once  radically  cured 
of  this  benevolent  folly;  immediate,  because  it  is  evident 
that  the  citizens  of  Fannin  county,  and  all  other  Southern 
people  similarly  beset  and  outraged  by  this  pestilent  over- 
plus of  Northern  ingenuity  or  fanaticism,  do  not  desire  to 
be  troubled  with  taking  measures  to  rid  themselves  of  it 
further  than  to  give  a  plain  intimation  that  its  absence  is 
desirable.  This  should  be  enough,  and  we  hope  the  North- 
ern missionaries  will  not  force  any  additional  action  upon 
the  Southern  people.  It  is  quite  evident  that  the  South  is 
determined  not  to  be  converted  in  the  Northern  way,  and 
we  do  not  think  it  prudent  that  the  imported  method  should 
be  insisted  upon  any  longer.  Whether  our  Northern  friends 
have  been  led  into  their  present  position  by  mistake  or  de- 
sign is  of  less  consequence  than  that  they  should  get  out 
of  it  at  their  earliest  and  comfortable  convenience.  They 


EVENTS  OF  1859.  137 

should  not  stand  on  the  order  of  their  going,  but  go  at  once. 
Let  them  shake  off  the  dust  of  their  feet,  if  they  choose, 
and  consign  us  to  any  fate  which  their  nutmeg  genius  may 
deem  pungent  enough  for  our  iniquities."3 

The  Nashville  Christian  Advocate,  under  the  heading, 
"Bishop  Janes's  Statement,"  makes  light  of  the  matter  thus: 

"From  all  he  states,  we  suppose  there  could  not  have 
been  much  sign  of  violence.  The  Bishop  was  but  slightly 
interrupted  in  his  public  exercises,  and  was  permitted,  un- 
molested, to  proceed  to  the  close  of  his  sermon  and  the  or- 
dination services.  We  are  not  in  favor  of  mobs,  regret  to 
hear  of  any  rashness  or  violence,  but  really  our  friends  at 
the  North  seem  to  be  trying  to  make  a  great  ado  about  a 
matter  in  which  they  are  but  slightly  interested.  If,  how- 
ever, our  brethren  persist  in  sending  abolition  preachers  into 
slave  territory,  they  can  not  expect  any  thing  less  than  ex- 
citement among  slaveholders,  and  men  excited  do  not  always 
act  with  strict  prudence.  We  judge  that  the  Bishop's  state- 
ment will  likely  call  forth  a  rejoinder  from  the  citizens  of 
Tannin  county.  We  really  think  his  publication  had  better 
have  been  suppressed ;  it  will  only  serve  to  inflame  the  peo- 
ple, North  and  South."4 

This  was  no  slight  affair.  A  mob  of  two  hundred  persons, 
armed  with  bowie-knives  and  revolvers,  headed  by  a  South- 
ern Methodist,  a  judge  of  the  bench,  interrupted  the  public 
exercises  of  religion  by  stopping  them,  reading  denunciatory 
resolutions,  and  making  a  speech  on  them.  Two  hours  only 
were  given  for  an  answer,  and  that  time  would  be  necessary 
to  complete  the  religious  service;  and  the  decision  of  the 
mobocrats  was  that  a  whole  Conference  of  loyal  citizens 
must  leave  their  flocks  and  their  fields  of  labor  and  never 
return.  But  the  Nashville  paper  regards  all  this  as  quite 

»  Central  Christian  Advocate  for  1859,  p.  274. 
4 Western  Christian  Advocate  for  1859,  p.  106. 

12 


138  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

trivial.  Glittering  bowie-knives,  swinging  revolvers,  and 
threatening  crowds  menacing  worsliipers  in  the  public  sanc- 
tuary are  inconsiderable  circumstances;  in  other  words,  it 
indorses  the  doings  of  the  mob. 

Many  more  quotations  could  be  given  to  show  that  the 
officials  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  sanctioned 
mob  measures,  and  the  expulsion  thereby  of  our  preachers 
and  people  from  all  slave  territory. 

5.  The  state  of  things  in  the  South-West  at  that  time 
called  forth  a  plea  for  this  region  from  the  pen  of  C.  Elliott. 
It  was  published  in  the  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal, 
September  1,  1859,  and  is  now  inserted  here,  in  substance: 

In  answer  to  the  objection  that  this  territory  is  already 
occupied  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  and 
there  is,  therefore,  no  need  of  any  other  Methodist  agency 
there,  it  was  responded:  1.  The  principles  and  course  of  this* 
Church  disqualify  them  for  evangelizing  Missouri,  Arkansas, 
and  Texas.  They  have  gone  away  from  the  principles  of 
Methodism  and  the  Bible  in  regard  to  slavery,  and  have 
had  recourse  to  mobs, ,  and  other  antiscriptural  means. 
They  are  not,  therefore,  the  people  to  evangelize  slave  ter- 
ritory. 2.  There  are  many  of  our  people  in  the  South- 
West  who  call  for  our  ministrations ;  we  are,  therefore,  bound 
to  hear  their  call,  and  send  them  preachers  and  organize 
Churches. 

In  connection  with  this  view  the  following  considerations- 
were  then  presented: 

Let  the  South-West  be  supplied  with  preachers  with  equal 
or  greater  liberality  than  Oregon,  California,  or  other  new 
countries.  The  Ohio  Conference,  some  forty  years  ago,  and 
for  many  years  after,  reenforced  the  Missouri  Conference 
with  preachers  who  rendered  eminent  service.  So  did  the 
Pittsburg  Conference,  as  it  sent  Drurnmond  and  Henry 
to  Missouri,  and  Dr.  Ruter  to  Texas.  Great  numbers  of 


EVENTS  OF  1859.  139 

preachers  were  always  sent  from  the  more  Eastern  Confer- 
ences to  the  Western. 

Let  our  Missionary  Society  be  as  liberal  to  these  regions 
as  to  any  other  missionary  field,  so  that  Texas,  Arkansas, 
Missouri,  and  Kansas  may  be  well  reenforced,  and  the  or- 
dinances of  our  Church  be  furnished  to  all  who  are  willing 
and  properly,  disposed  to  receive  them. 

Let  the  press  in  St.  Louis  be  fully  sustained.  This  center 
will,  in  time,  be  as  important  a  point  for  circulating  weekly 
sheets  as  Cincinnati  or  Chicago. 

One  of  our  newly  elected  bishops  should  make  his  resi- 
dence in  St.  Louis  after  May  next.  While  he  does  his  work 
in  common  with  others,  he  can  especially  attend  to  the  South- 
West,  and  provide  for  all  the  nooks  and  corners  among  the 
slopes  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  principles  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  its 
Discipline  and  influence,  are  much  needed  in  the  South- 
West.  Its  moral  principles  on  slavery  are  needed  there. 
These  principles  are  eternal  and  immutable,  being  based  on, 
or  portions  of,  the  unchangeable  morals  of  the  Decalogue,  as 
indorsed  by  Jesus  Christ.  Our  Discipline  in  practice  is 
needed  in  this  region.  It  is  needed  to  teach  Christian  mas- 
ters and  slaves  their  duties  respectively  till  the  slave  becomes 
a  free  man,  with  the  least  possible  delay,  on  the  principles 
of  right  and  justice,  and  the  law  of  love  and  Christian 
brotherhood.  The  salutary  influence  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  here  is  needed  for  the  promotion  of  religion, 
the  suppression  of  mobs,  the  advancement  of  education,  and 
its  indirect  moral  influence  on  civil  institutions ;  although 
the  first  and  principal  work  of  the  Church  is  the  salvation' 
of  souls,  and  then,  after  that,  every  good  work  and  word, 
in  all  godliness  and  sincerity. 

Notice  the  extent  of  these  vast  regions.  Already  there 
are  six  Conferences  in  the  South-West.  Soon  their  num- 


140  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

her  will  be   doubled.    'At   no  distant   time   there  will   be 
twenty  Conferences  in  this  region. 

The  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  are  the 
men  to  do  this  great  work,  if  they  are  faithful  to  their 
trust.  If  they  will  not  do  it,  there  are  no  others  in  the 
field  at  present  to  accomplish  this  work.  Here  is  a  great 
mission  indeed,  on  which  great  interests  depend. 

The  Southern  editors  took  fire  at  the  foregoing  repre- 
sentation of  the  religious  state  of  the  South-West,  and 
wrote  many  hard  things  respecting  it. 

The  Texas  Advocate,  after  preliminary  remarks,  proceeds 
as  follows : 

"  Here  it  is  distinctly  charged  that  the  Southern  Meth- 
odists are  unfit  for  doing  Christian  work  on  slave  territory, 
because  they  are  unsound  on  the  subject  of  slavery.  Their 
position  is,  that  a  slaveholder  may  be  as  good  a  Christian 
as  any  other  man,  and  they  receive  such  in  their  com- 
munion on  the  same  terms  on  which  they  receive  the  slave 
or  any  one  else.  They  leave  the  question  of  slavery  with 
the  Government,  to  which  it  belongs,  and  persistently  refuse 
to  meddle  with  it  in  any  way.  If  this  proves  that  they 
'  are  not  the  people  to  evangelize  slave  territory,'  the  North- 
ern folks  must  be  the  people  to  do  that  work,  for  the  sole 
reason  that  they  are  more  enlightened  than  we  upon  the 
subject  of  slavery;  or,  to  speak  to  the  point,  because  they 
are  unmitigated  abolitionists,  however  they  may  choose  to 
disguise  the  fact,  on  prudential  considerations,  under  certain 
circumstances.  If  they  are  determined  on  the  crusade  ad- 
vocated by  Dr.  Elliott,  the  issue  is  not  between  them  and 
the  Southern  Methodists,  but  between  them  and  the  South- 
ern people." 

"  The  charge  that  Southern  Methodists  '  have  had  re- 
course to  mobs'  is  so  gross  a  slander  that  nothing  but  in- 
veterate prejudice  could  have  deceived  a  man  of  Mr.  Elliott's 


EVENTS  OF  1859.  141 

good  sense  into  its  employment.  It  is  untrue,  and  has 
been  proved  to  be  false  by  the  most  incontestable  evidence. 
The  only  shadow  of  ground  for  it  is,  that  the  Texas  Advo- 
cate, a  paper  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South, 
sustained  the  action  of  a  Southern  committee  in  warning  a 
Northern  Conference,  which  was  actually  at  its  antislavery 
work  in  Texas,  of  the  dangerous  impracticability  of  its 
proceedings.  We  did  do  it,  and  should  do  it  again ;  if  that 
was  mobocracy,  all  concerned  are  welcome  to  make  the 
most  of  it." 

"  The  Northern  Methodists  are  bitterly  wrong  in  this 
thing;  we  sincerely  regret  their  pertinacity  in  a  cause 
fraught  with  no  possible  good  to  themselves,  and  with 
positive  evil  to  others.  We  had  hoped  that  they  would 
see  their  error  in  time  to  avert  any  very  serious  conse- 
quences ;  but  as  they  seem  to  wax  more  determined,  and 
as  their  most  prominent  men  and  papers  have  assumed  the 
ultra  ground  on  the  subject  of  Northern  religious  interfer- 
ence with  Southern  civil  institutions,  we  have  lost  all  ex- 
pectation that  they  will  stop  short  of  the  unenviable  glory 
of  being  the  cause  of  civil  conflict.  That  such  will  be  the 
result  of  taking  Mr.  Elliott's  advice  is  beyond  question 
with  any  one  who  is  competent  to  form  an  opinion  on  the 
subject."5 

The  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate  publishes  the  foregoing 
with  approbation,  and  among  other  things  says :  "  If  the 
Texas  brother  knew  the  status  of  Northern  Methodism  in 
Missouri  as  we  do,  he  would  not  be  particularly  concerned 
as  to  its  future.  .  .  .  Such  ecclesiastico-filibustering 
meets  poor  encouragement  among  the  sober-minded  people 
of  the  West.  The  cry  of  mobs  has  become  too  stale  to  be 
seriously  regarded  by  any  one,  and  is  only  repeated  by 
such  as  are  pitiably  ignorant  of  the  facts  in  the  case,  or 

»  See  Central  Christian  Advocate,  1859,  p.  35o,  col.  1. 


142  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

too  much  prejudiced  or  corrupt  to  tell  the  truth.  The 
Church  South  has  never  instigated,  and  we  have  no  idea 
ever  will  instigate,  a  mob." 

We  admit  that  there  has  been  no  official  indorsement,  in 
terms,  of  mol^s  by  the  General  Conference,  or  Annual  Con- 
ferences, of  the  Southern  Methodist  Church.  But  there 
are  examples  enough  of  the  ministers  and  members  of  that 
Church  instigating  mobs  against  our  people,  and  also  par- 
taking with  them.  And  this  has  been  with  the  full  knowl- 
edge of  the  authorities  of  their  Church,  and  that  not  only 
without  any  remonstrance,  but  evidently  with  their  approval. 
The  Texas  mob  is  only  one  example ;  many  more  exist 
equally  outrageous,  as  the  pages  of  this  volume  will  fully 
show. 

So  true  is  the  declaration  of  Bishop  Janes,  in  his  account 
of  the  Fannin  county  mob,  that  we  recite  and  apply  it  to 
the  editors  of  the  Texas  and  St.  Louis  Advocates :  "  When 
editors  or  others  apologize  for  such  lawlessness  and  wrong, 
or  speak  of  them  approvingly,  they  become  morally  partic- 
ipes  criminis,  and  show  that  they  only  need  the  opportunity 
to  do  the  same  themselves.  Surely  they  will  do  themselves, 
in  like  circumstances,  what  they  commend  in  others.  Or 
if  position  or  policy  should  restrain  them  from  the  actual 
outrage,  they  would  at  least  hold  the  clothes  of  those  who 
throw  the  stones." 

The  editor  of  the  Texas  paper  virtually  confesses  that  he 
is  a  mobocrat,  as  he  says  he  approves  of  the  action  of  the 
mob,  which  he  calls  a  committee,  that  attacked  Bishop 
Janes  and  the  Conference  in  Texas,  and  then  boldly  says, 
"  We  did  do  it,  and  should  do  so  again ;  if  that  is  moboc- 
racy,  all  concerned  are  welcome  to  make  the  most  of  it." 
The  editor  of  the  St.  Louis  Advocate  is  in  the  same  cate- 
gory with  his  brethren  in  Texas.  "  What  men  do  by  oth- 
ers, they  do  themselves." 


EVENTS  OF  1859.  143 

6.  The  raid  of  John  Brown  on  Harper's  Ferry  was  one 
of  those  unusual  events  which  tended  to  stir  up  the  pio- 
slavery  and  the  antislavery  elements  of  the  country,  both 
North  and  South.  The  reasons  for  the  raid  are  given  by 
the  Washington  Republic  as  follows: 

"The  leader  of  the  assailants  was  John  Brown,  who  had 
lost  two  sons  in  the  Kansas  contest,  under  the  most  har- 
rowing circumstances,  induced  by  the  slaveholding  interest. 
Brown  and  his  associates  had  been  obliged  to  practice,  upon 
the  border  counties  of  Missouri,  the  system  of  defending 
themselves  by  assailing  their  assailants.  What  happened 
at  Harper's  Ferry  was  directly  caused  by  the  invasion  of 
Kansas.  The  assailants  at  the  Ferry  were  those  who  had 
been  fighting  in  defense  in  Kansas,  and  whose  passions  had 
been  there  aroused.  The  raid  of  Brown,  in  itself,  was 
wicked,  and,  in  regard  to  Brown,  it  was  most  foolish." 

"The  insurrectionists  had  a  constitution  called  the  'Con- 
stitution of  the  Provisional  Government,'  the  general  drift 
of  which  was  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves  in  Virginia 
and  the  whole  South.  For  months  past  those  who  had 
known  Brown  best  had  pronounced  him  insane.  On  Sun- 
day, October  15,  1859,  he  and  a  gang  of  some  twenty  whites 
and  five  blacks  took  possession  of  the  arsenal  and  Govern- 
ment pay-house,  cut  the  telegraph  wires,  stopped  the  trains 
on  the  railway,  and  commenced  to  force  every  person  they 
met  in  town  to  join  their  ranks.  The  insurgents  were  mostly 
killed,  and  Brown  was  taken  prisoner,  and,  after  a  trial,  was 
hung  for  his  rash  crime." 

The  course  of  Brown  was  condemned  by  the  general  voice 
of  the  free  States,  although  most  considered  that  he  ought 
to  be  treated  as  a  crazy  man  or  lunatic.  The  South  were 
forward  to  consider  it  the  work  of  the  abolitionists,  and 
made  much  capital  of  it  in  stirring  up  the  spirit  of  pro- 
slavery  men.  The  Southern  Methodist  press  was  not  behind 


144  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

in  sounding,  we  may  say,  the  war-cry,  which  was  well  cal- 
culated to  stir  up  evil  passions.  In  short,  the  civil,  political, 
and  religious  departments  of  the  South  were  stirred  up  as 
though  an  earthquake  were  shaking  the  country  and  ruin 
was  coming  from  all  quarters. 

We  subjoin  a  few  sample  extracts  from  Southern  Meth- 
odist papers  on  this  occasion: 

The  New  Orleans  Christian  Advocate  exclaimed:  "Read 
the  astonishing  account  of  the  Harper's  Ferry  insurrec- 
tion, on  our  third  page.  The  devil  is  surely  let  loose  for  a 
season." 

The  Richmond  Christian  Advocate  says:  "Abolitionism, 
that  has  already  devised  and  executed  so  many  profound 
schemes  and  originated  so  much  evil  in  Church  and  State, 
is  not  wanting  in  minds  capable  of  the  conception  and  en- 
terprise. Disclosure  and  retribution  may  not  be  remote. 
With  Brown  was  the  execution  and  the  failure;  we  must 
look  elsewhere  for  the  infamy  of  origination.  The  disclo- 
sures of  correspondence  are  startling,  and  another  Arnold 
may  yet  be  discovered,  to  the  disgrace  of  humanity  and  the 
reproach  of  the  American  character.  The  extent  of  com- 
plicity in  this  sanguinary  conspiracy  is  yet  to  be  revealed. 
A  mystery  shrouds  this  event  whose  solution  may  involve 
the  country  in  serious  and  lamentable  evils.  We  can  not 
repress  our  fears."  He  continues:  "Abolitionism  is  the  con- 
centration of  infidelity,  skepticism,  hypocrisy,  fanaticism,  and 
treason,  and  consequently  no  law  or  interest,  human  or  di- 
vine, can  restrain  its  frenzy  beyond  the  moment  favorable 
to  involve  the  country  in  overwhelming  confusion." 

The  Nashville  Christian  Advocate  says:  "Abolition  and 
Black  Republican  schemes  are  blowing  up  prematurely  and 
disastrously,  as  will  be  seen  by  an  account  of  the  Harper's 
Ferry  insurrection,  published  elsewhere." 

The    St.    Louis    Christian    Advocate    comes    forward    as 


EVENTS  OP  1859.  145 

follows:  "The  outbreak  is  but  the  legitimate  result  of  the 
incendiary  doctrines  which,  for  some  years  pust,  have  been  so 
fervently  urged  from  a  portion  of  the  secular  and  religious 
press,  and  from  a  number  of  the  pulpits  of  the  country. 
There  is  no  difficulty  whatever  in  tracing  such  things  back 
to  their  true  origin.  The  everlasting  writing,  and  preach- 
ing, and  praying,  and  whining,  and  sniffling  about  the  great 
evil  of  slavery,  the  insane  and  demoniac  spirit  of  abolition- 
ism, the  senseless  shrieking  for  freedom — to  these,  and  to 
these  only,  are  we  to  attribute  the  bloody  affair  at  Harper's 
Ferry.  It  was  but  the  legitimate  result  of  such  unscrip- 
tural,  ungodly,  mischievous,  and  wicked  proceedings,  and 
while  'professed  ministers  of  the  Gospel  and  entire  bodies 
of  Christian  people  will  keep  the  public  mind  agitated  by 
their  continual  reiterations  of  such  unsocial  and  unscrip- 
tural  doctrines  we  may  look  for  further  practical  develop- 
ments of  their  folly." 

We  are  surprised  at  the  blindness  which  has  happened  to 
these  Southern  editors.  They  do  not  even  hint  at  the  theft, 
violence,  and  gross  injustice  of  the  system  which  they  de- 
fend in  all  its  unscriptural  grossness;  nor  do  they  hint  at 
the  maddening  influences  brought  to  bear  on  this  now  in- 
sane John  Brown.  For  five  years  the  invasion  of  pro-slav- 
ery men  was  at  work  to  force  the  antiscriptural,  immoral, 
and  corrupt  system  on  Kansas,  and  John  Brown's  family 
were  especial  sufferers  from  the  savage  barbarities  thus  vis- 
ited, in  a  general  way,  on  thousands  of  others.  We  do  not 
now  .wonder  that  these  editors  were  up  to  the  foremost  in 
the  vile  rebellion  of  1861,  and  encouraged  and  supported  it 
up  to  the  last. 

7.  The  rejection  of  the  charter  of  the  Methodist  univers- 
ity at  Jefferson  City,  by  the  Missouri  Legislature,  was  an 
occasion  for  showing  how  the  pro-slavery  influence  was  ex- 
ercised against  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

13 


146  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

In  the  year  1857  the  Jefferson  City  Land  Company  prof- 
fered to  any  religious  denomination  which  should  cooperate 
with  them  in  building  a  university  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  of  the  stock  of  the  company.  Rev.  Joseph  Brooks, 
Dr.  L.  "W.  Berry,  and  other  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  took  up  the  proffer,  trustees  were  ap- 
pointed, and  preliminary  arrangements  made  to  establish 
the  university.  Steps  were  taken  to  procure  a  charter,  but 
the  proposition  failed,  being  voted  down  by  a  large  majority, 
because  it  was  to  be  under  the  patronage  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

Charters  had  been  granted  to  the  Catholics,  the  Southern 
Methodists,  the  Baptists,  the  Presbyterians,  the  Reformers, 
etc.,  but  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  none  could  be 
given,  and  the  refusal  of  the  charter  to  our  Church  stands 
alone  on  the  journals,  a  solitary  act  of  proscription  in  the 
legislation  of  forty  years.  This  refusal  was  a  punishment 
on  good  citizens,  and  contrary  to  the  very  Constitution  of 
Missouri,  which  states  "that  no  preference  can  ever  be  given 
by  law  to  any  sect  or  mode  of  worship."  In  1837  St.  Charles 
College  was  chartered,  then  tacitly  under  the  patronage  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  whose  principles  on  slavery 
were  the  same  as  they  are  now.  In  1847  this  college,  by 
an  amendment  to  its  charter  since  declared  unconstitutional, 
passed  under  the  especial  patronage  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  South. 

In  1859  application  was  again  made  for  the  university 
charter,  and  December  19th  it  was  discussed  and  rejected 
in  the  House  by  a  vote  of  eighty-eight  against  it,  and 
twenty-two  for  it.  Such  expressions  as  the  following  were 
uttered  in  the  House  while  the  subject  was  pending:  Mr. 
Cordell  "hoped  this  would  be  indefinitely  postponed,  as  it 
was  an  effort  to  establish  a  Northern  Methodist  Church." 
Mr.  Anthony  asked  "how  many  nigger-thieves  there  were 


EVENTS  OF  1859.  147 

among  the  communicants  of  this  Northern  Methodist 
Church."  Mr.  Ferry  said  "it  was  an  effort  to  build  up 
a  monster  Methodist  Church  that  had  for  its  object  the 
overturning  of  the  institution  of  slavery."  Such  are  sam- 
ples of  the  sentiments  which  governed  four-fifths  of  the 
legislators  of  the  House  in  1859,  and  they  are  similar  to 
those  uttered  two  years  previously.  In  short,  as  the  other 
Churches  were  entirely,  or  chiefly,  at  least,  pro-slavery,  they 
could  readily  receive  legislative  protection.  But  not  so  with 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church — it  could  have  no  college 
or  seminary  in  the  State;  and,  although  its  ministers  and 
people  were  the  patrons  of  its  first  college — that  of  St. 
Charles,  chartered  in  1837 — as  well  as  the  pioneers  of  relig- 
ion, civilization,  and  education,  they  were  proscribed  in  1859. 
Yet  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  had  not  changed  its 
sentiments,  for  they  were  the  same  in  1859  as  they  were  in 
1837,  or  twenty-two  years  previous.  But  the  people  and 
other  Churches  in  Missouri  had  changed,  and  not  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church. 

The  storm  of  opposition  in  the  Legislature  was  barely  an 
expression  of  what  existed  among  the  Southern  Methodists, 
the  other  Churches  of  Missouri,  and  the  pro- slavery  party 
in  general,  and  these  events  only  presaged  what  occurred  in 
1860,  when  antislavery  ministers  were  murdered,  or  what 
happened  in  1861,  when  the  pro-slavery  people  and  Churches 
were  enlisted  on  the  side  of  rebellion.6 

8.  We  may  here  very  reasonably  present  a  few  facts  vin- 
dicating the  genuine  antislavery  character  of  our  Churches 
in  the  border  Conferences,  while  we  may  allow  there  was 
some  laxity  of  expression  on  their  part,  as  well  as  some 
cases  of  unsoundness. 

There  has  been,  since  the  defection  of  Southern  Method- 
ists, a  pro-slavery  Methodist  Church  along  the  line,  but  our 

•Central  Christian  Advocate  for  1859,  pp.  413,414. 


148  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

people  chose  our  communion,  with  its  antislavery  Discipline. 
They  have  done  more  for  the  slave  and  colored  man  than 
all  the  rest  of  the  Churches  put  together.  They  have  stood 
for  nearly  a  century  in  the  midst  of  slavery  with  the  pro- 
test of  our  antislavery  Discipline  against  it.  Emancipation 
has  been  promoted  by  this  means  to  a  very  great  extent. 
They  have  stood  up  as  the  protectors  of  the  colored  people: 
instance  in  Maryland.  They  have,  to  a  very  considerable 
extent,  prevented  slaveholders  from  entering  the  ministry. 
They  were  foremost,  in  1844,  in  opposition  to  slaveholders 
entering  the  Episcopacy. 

Rev.  W.  S.  Harlow,  Principal  of  Mt.  Morris  Seminary, 
formerly  of  the  Providence  Conference,  having  visited  the 
West  in  1859,  expresses  himself  thus  in  Zion's  Herald,  in 
reference  to  Missouri  Methodists:  "We  regretted  to  learn 
that  some,  professing  to  occupy  high  antislavery  ground 
while  in  the  East,  should,  in  coming  to  Missouri,  not  have 
more  principle  than  to  identify  themselves  with  an  ecclesias- 
tical organization  whose  members  buy  and  sell  human  beings 
without  restraint,  and  which  already  begins  to  glory  in  its 
pro-slavery  character.  Against  such  inhuman  proclivities 
our  brethren  here  have  taken  the  right  stand,  and  in  the 
position  which  they  occupy  there  is  much  of  the  moral  sub- 
lime. They  have  planted  the  battlements  of  freedom  in  the 
presence  of  its  enemies,  and  are  working  out  the  great  bat- 
tle of  fighting  the  sum  of  all  villainies  on  its  own  soil.  A 
braver  and  more  self-sacrificing  band  is  not  to  be  found  in 
the  annals  of  Methodism.  They  surely  deserve  the  sympa- 
thy, prayers,  and  support  of  the  Church." 


CAPTURE  AND  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.  149 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

CAPTURE  AND  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY. 

1.  THE  circumstances  that  induced  Mr.  Bewley  to  leave 
Texas  may  be  stated  as  follows : 

In  1860  the  Legislature  of  Texas  authorized  the  people 
to  take  the  law  into  their  own  hands,  and  run  out  all  sus- 
picious persons,  or  punish  them  as  they  saw  fit,  were  it 
even  with  death. 

Northern  Methodists  were  especially  obnoxious  to  the 
pro-slavery  men  of  Texas.  They  were  known  to  be  anti- 
slavery  ;  but  the  name  of  abolitionist  was  usually  attached 
to  them,  and  this  name,  in  the  view  of  the  Texans,  com- 
prised all  manner  and  degrees  of  wrong.  Indeed,  for  sev- 
eral years  previous,  the  members  and  preachers  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  were  so  harassed  and  annoyed 
that  they  gradually  left  the  country  and  emigrated  to  Cali- 
fornia, Kansas,  and  Oregon,  or  returned  to  the  Northern 
States  from  whence  they  came. 

Bishop  Pierce,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South, 
in  his  letters  from  the  Pacific,  in  the  Summer  and  Fall  of 
1860,  greatly  tended  to  keep  up  the  excitement  in  Texas 
against  the  members  and  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  These  letters  were  published  in  all  the 
Southern  Methodist  papers,  being  copied  from  the  one  to 
the  others.  On  the  4th  of  October,  one  appeared  in  the 
Southern  Christian  Advocate,  which  is  the  mere  echo  of  the 
teachings  of  the  Southern  Methodist  press,  their  bishops, 


150  '  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

their  preachers,  and  members.  We  give  an  extract  from 
Bishop  Pierce's  letter: 

"  Alas !  the  very  'principles  of  Northern  Methodists  are 
local,  sectional,  and  beyond  their  proper  geographical  lim- 
its they  become  suspicious.  If  they  are  honest  and  con- 
sistent, their  avowed  doctrines  constitute  them  disturbers 
of  the  peace.  They  come  into  the  slave  States  as  open, 
declared  enemies  of  the  institutions  of  the  people.  On 
their  own  theory,  they  can  not  be  faithful  to  God  without 
aiding  and  abetting  runaway  slaves.  They  must  sympa- 
thize with  arson,  blood,  and  murder,  insurrection  and  car- 
nage. Recent  developments  in  Texas,  and  editorials  and 
articles  in  the  papers  of  the  Northern  Church,  justify  the 
logic  of  these  conclusions.  For  these  reasons,  abolitionists 
can  not  and  ought  not  to  be  tolerated  in  the  Southern 
States.  No  quarantine  will  justify  their  admission,  no  fu- 
migation can  disinfect  them.  Rank,  rotten  with  the  foul 
virus  of  an  incurable  disease,  foes  of  God  and  man,  spies 
and  traitors  to  their  country  and  their  kind,  let  them  stay 
where  they  belong !" 

Such  are  the  spirit  and  sentiments  inculcated  by  the  lead- 
ing Southern  Methodist  authorities  toward  the  members  and 
preachers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  For  years 
previous  to  the  murder  of  Bewley,  such  was  the  teaching; 
and  though  this  letter  appeared,  October  4th,  in  the  South- 
ern Christian  Advocate,  it  was  written  weeks  before  that, 
while  Bishop  Pierce  was  traveling  in  California,  and  it  was 
but  the  echo  of  voices  which  had  been  sounding  in  his 
Church  and  other  pro-slavery  bodies  for  years  previous. 

Besides,  it  was  circulated  extensively  in  Texas,  that  the 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Mr.  Bewley 
and  Mr.  Willet  in  particular,  had  been  engaged  in  burning 
houses  through  the  State,  and  therefore  their  presence  in 
the  country  could  not  be  tolerated.  These  reports  were 


CAPTURE  AND  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.  151 

without  the  semblance  of  a  foundation,  but  it  was  all  the 
same  with  the  infuriated  enemies  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church.  About  July  17,  1860,  it  was  thus  circulated 
that  Mr.  Bewley  and  those  of  his  class  had  burned  several 
towns. 

Furthermore,  a  forged  letter  attributed  to  one  W.  H. 
Bailey,  dated  Denton  Creek,  Texas,  July  3,  1860,  and  ad- 
dressed to  Mr.  Bewley,  as  an  accomplice  in  the  work  of 
raising  insurrections  in  Texas,  was  another  means  of  stirring 
up  public  indignation  against  Mr.  Bewley.  And  this  forged 
letter  was  sworn  to  as  genuine,  August  10th,  before  a  mag- 
istrate in  Tarrant  county,  Texas. 

2.  As  to  Mr.  Bewley's  appointment  to  Texas,  in  the 
Spring  of  1860,  it  has  been  stated,  without  foundation, 
however,  that  Bishop  Ames  used  unusual  persuasion  to 
induce  him  to  go  to  Texas.  This  is  incorrect,  as  will  ap- 
pear from  the  following  from  Rev.  James  Hanan,  of  Sar- 
coxie,  Jasper  county,  Mo.,  under  date  of  November  20, 
1860.  He  says,  "  I  was  present  in  Bishop  Ames's  cabinet, 
or,  if  you  please,  council-room,  when  brother  Bewley  and 
the  Bishop  met  in  their  first  interview  at  the  Conference 
referred  to,  which  was  held  at  Pleasant  Hill  Church,  in 
Franklin  county,  Arkansas,  and  the  following  is  the  con- 
versation, after  the  common  salutation  and  inquiry  after 
each  other's  health.  The  Bfehop  took  his  seat  at  the 
table  and  said,  '  Brother  Bewley,  now  tell  us  about  Texas.' 
Brother  Bewley  then  stated  how  they  had  got  along  there. 
The  Bishop  then  asked  *  if  he  thought  that  we  could  do 
any  good  there?'  He  replied,  'It  is  not  likely,'  and  then 
gave  his  reasons ;  but  said  '  there  were  large  German  set- 
tlements on  the  Nueces,  west  of  the  Colorado,  and  they 
wanted  our  preaching.'  The  Bishop  then  asked  him  if  he 
was  willing  to  go  back  to  Texas.  Brother  Bewley  then 
said,  'I  told  them  that  if  the  Conference  said  "Go  back"  I 


152  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

was  coming  back ;  but  if  not,  I  was  going  wherever  they 
sent  me.'  The  Bishop  asked  him  £  how  much  it  would 
take  to  support  his  family  on  the  Nueces.'  Brother  Bew- 
ley  said  '  he  thought  $400  would  do  it.'  He  set  it  down 
for  him.  The  Bishop  then  asked  '  what  he  thought  would 
support  brother  Willet's  family?  if  $300  would  do  it?' 
Brother  Bewley  answered,  '  Yes.'  It  was  set  down  for  him. 
The  Bishop  then  instructed  Bewley,  as  superintendent  of 
the  Mission,  'for  him  and  Willet  to  go  to  the  Nueces  and 
get  them  homes,  and  preach  where  they  wanted  them;  but 
that  it  was  not  best  to  organize  societies  next  Summer,  but 
to  correspond  with  the  Missionary  Board.'  I  was  present 
at  every  interview  between  them  at  that  Conference." 

3.  From  the  time  of  the  secession  of  the  Southern  Meth- 
odists from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  the  Southern 
people  were  very  much  averse  to  having  any  intercourse 
with  Methodists  in  the  North.  This  was  especially  so  after 
1848,  when  our  General  Conference  pronounced  the  South- 
ern organization  an  unscriptural  secession.  And  this  aver- 
sion was  greatly  increased  when  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  was  organized  in  Missouri  and  the  South -West. 
Opposition  to  our  Church  was  manifested  in  a  great  variety 
of  ways,  from  1848  onward.  Passing  over  many  proofs  of 
this,  we  mention  only  two  in  this  place. 

We  refer  to  the  outrage,  March  11,  1859,  on  the  session 
of  the  Arkansas  Conference  at  Bonham,  Fannin  county, 
Texas,  under  the  presidency  of  Bishop  Janes.  We  need 
not  here  enter  into  particulars,  as  this  occurrence  has  been 
noticed  in  a  previous  chapter. 

We  mention  especially  the  expulsion  of  Rev.  Wm.  Sel- 
lers, from  Missouri,  in  1854.  A  meeting  of  citizens  of 
Fabius  township,  Marion  county,  Mo.,  on  the  4th  of 
February,  1854,  passed  some  five  resolutions,  in  which 
they,  in  mobocratic  spirit,  declare  that  no  ministers 


CAPTURE  AND  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.  153 

of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  can  be  allowed  to  re- 
main in  Missouri.  In  the  preamble  to  their  five  resolutions 
they  say,  respecting  the  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  that  they  are  the  "  representatives  of  a  body 
whose ,  sentiments  on  the  subject  of  slavery  are  decidedly 
hostile  to  our  interests  as  slaveholders,  and  dangerous  to 
our  peace,  and  that  the  leading  object  of  their  mission  here 
is  the  destruction  of  slavery  by  the  propagation,  in  any 
manner  not  inconsistent  with  the  safety  of  their  persons, 
of  doctrines  calculated  to  array  against  the  institution  the 
weak-minded  and  fanatical  among  us,  and  to  create  discon- 
tent, dissatisfaction,  and  insubordination  among  our  slaves ; 
be  it  therefore  resolved,  "  That  the  peace  and  best  interests 
of  this  community  require  that  the  said  ministers,  from  this 
time  and  forever  hereafter,  desist  from  visiting  and  preach- 
ing among  us." ' 

The  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  as  a 
matter  of  conscience,  never  engaged  in  inducing  slaves  to 
leave  their  masters,  or  in  making  them  discontented  with 
their  condition.  The  Church,  however,  professed  to  do 
what  they  could,  as  Christians,  to  extirpate  slavery.  But, 
in  attempting  this,  they  never  disturbed  the  peace  of  soci- 
ety. The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  a  clean  record 
on  this  subject,  in  two  respects.  First,  she  never  allowed 
the  ministry  or  her  members  to  engage  in  opposition  to 
law.  Secondly,  she  has  always  taught  her  ministers  and 
members  to  use  their  influence  against  slavery. 

The  Committee  of  Fabius  township  declare  that  they 
will  make  law,  where  there  is  none,  and  execute  it,  too,  by 
mob  violence  against  peaceable  citizens  and  ministers,  who 
believe  that  slavery  is  wrong  and  ought  to  be  done  away 
by  the  power  which  established  it. 

These   Fabius   township  resolutions,    issued   February  4, 

1  See  the  resolutions  in  full  in  Chapter  II,  for  1854. 


154  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

1854,  contain  mere  specimens  of  the  sentiments  inculcated 
by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  and  their  pro- 
slavery  allies  in  the  South-West,  from  1848  down  to  the 
famous  declarations  of  Bishop  Pierce  in  1860.  And  the 
zealous  and  headlong  Bishop  only  repeated  in  1860  what 
he  and  his  Church,  its  press  and  preachers,  and  their 
coadjutors,  have  been  proclaiming  and  practicing,  when 
convenient,  from  1848  up  to  the  day  that  Bewley  was 
murdered,  without  crime,  or  trial,  by  the  hands  of  a  mob 
which  carried  out  practically  what  the  Bishop  had  taught. 
The  resolvers  of  Fabius  township  carried  out  the  same 
also  in  practice,  for  they  drove  Mr.  Sellers,  by  mob  law, 
out  of  the  country,  and  he  barely  escaped  with  his  life. 
This  was  only  a  prelude  to  the  persecutions  and  slaughter 
which  followed. 

4.  When  Mr.  Bewley  was  first  appointed  to  Texas  in 
1858,  he  resided  in  Johnson  county,  about  sixteen  miles 
from  Fort  Worth.  In  consequence  of  the  opposition  to 
him,  he  could  not  do  much,  although  he  held  his  ground 
till  after  his  appointment  at  the  close  of  February,  1860. 
It  was  575  miles  from  his  residence,  in  Johnson  county, 
Texas,  to  Barry  county,  Mo.,  where  he  was  seized  by  the 
mob. 

Mr.  Bewley,  in  view  of  the  clamor  about  the  Bailey  letter, 
forged  and  addressed  to  him,  and  in  consequence  of  the 
allegations  brotfght  against  him,  of  burning  houses,  pois- 
oning wells,  and  many  other  such  unfounded  charges, 
concluded  to  leave  the  country,  and  repair  to  Cassville, 
Barry  county,  Mo.,  where  his  former  friends  resided. 

Rev.  James  H.  Vaughan,  September  14,  1860,  Barry 
county,  Mo.,  wrote  as  follows  to  us: 

"Mr.  Editor, — It  is  with  considerable  excitement  that  I 
take  this  opportunity  of  addressing  your  readers  on  a  sub- 
ject about  which  they  are  doubtless  eager  to  hear  some- 


CAPTURE  AND  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.  155 

thing,  namely,  Brother  Bewley,  and  his  difficulties  with 
the  Texas  and  Arkansas  outlaws,  or  mobs.  Brother  Bewley 
was  coming  in  from  Texas,  having  learned  that  he  was 
accused  of  the  burning  of  towns,  and  inciting  others  to  do 
so.  Knowing  the  prejudices  that  existed  against  him,  he 
thought  it  best,  for  the  present,  to  leave.  He  was  insulted 
frequently  in  Arkansas,  as  he  came  along,  but  was  per- 
mitted to  pass,  till  he  got  into  Barry  county,  Mo.,  near 
Cassville,  when  a  company  of  eight  men  came  upon  him, 
saying  that  they  had  news  from  Texas;  that  there  was  one 
thousand  dollars  offered  for  him.  I  learn  from  his  daugh- 
ter, that  our  brethren  in  Arkansas  are  being  threatened  with 
violence,  if  they  do  not  stop  preaching.  The  above  is 
what  I  have  learned  from  sister  Roper,  brother  Bewley's 
daughter." 

Rev.  H.  Harryman,  under  date  of  September  25,  1860, 
writes  that  he  received  the  following  account  from  Mrs. 
Bewley,  on  the  17th  of  September,  1860,  on  the  Neosho 
River,  six  miles  below  Humboldt,  in  Kansas  Territory: 

"  Brother  A.  Bewley,  having  repaired  to  the  field  of 
labor  assigned  him,  and  finding  the  outrage  and  persecution 
so  violent,  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  labor  to 
any  advantage  in  the  ministry,  he  therefore  notified  them 
of  his  intention  to  give  up  the  field  and  retire,  which  he 
did,  and  proceeded  into  Missouri,  where,  halting  for  a  few 
days  to  rest  and  recruit  his  team,  he  was  overtaken  by  a 
mob  on  Monday,  the  3d  of  September,  and  was  taken  back 
to  Fayetteville.  He  was  visited  on  the  7th  by  hi&  son-in- 
law,  Mr.  Garoot;  he  was  then  alive,  and  in  the  hands  of  a 
mob  consisting  of  about  three  hundred.  They  stated  their 
intention  to  take  him  back  to  Texas,  and  of  starting  that 
evening  with  him.  But  the  settled  opinion  of  Mr.  Garoot 
is,  that  they  will  kill  him,  the  excitement  being  exceed- 
ingly high.  They  gave  Mr.  Garoot  his  orders  to  leave  for 


156  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Illinois,  or  some  of  the  Northern  free  States,  or  they  would 
attend  to  him  in  the  same  way,  believing  him  to  be  as 
grand  a  rascal  as  Bewley.  The  only  real  charge  against  these 
people  is,  they  belong  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Injustice,  persecution,  and  cruelty  can  find  their  counter- 
parts among  the  slaveocrats  of  Missouri.  The  above  is  the 
last  account  we  have  of  brother  Bewley,  and  his  family  are 
left  in  awful  suspense  to  await  the  result." 

It  is  stated  respecting  him,  but  from  an  unreliable 
source,  that,  in  the  Winter  of  1859-60,  he  promised  that, 
should  they  permit  him  to  leave  Texas  unmolested,  he 
would  not  return.  It  is  also  said,  though  contrary  to  the 
testimony  already  adduced,  that  Bishop  Ames  over-per- 
suaded him  to  return.  After  Conference,  in  1860,  he  and 
family  came  to  Missouri  to  see  their  friends,  and  take  with 
them  their  two  sons-in-law,  one  of  whom  lived  in  Kansas 
and  the  other  in  Missouri.  And  while  in  Missouri,  his 
friends  persuaded  him,  his  wife  joining  with  them,  not  to 
go  back  to  Texas.  But  his  reply  was  the  same  to  all: 
"Let  them  hang  or  burn  me  on  my  return,  if  they  choose; 
hundreds  will  rise  up  out  of  my  ashes." 

He  and  his  family  went  back,  and  after  staying  about 
a  month,  increased  excitement  broke  out,  and  he  was 
threatened  by  the  people.  Then  he  proceeded  to  leave 
Texas,  believing  he  could  do  no  good  there. 

Rev.  Mark  Robertson  gives  the  following  extract  of  a 
letter  to  him  from  Arkansas :  "  There  is  so  much  confusion 
here,  I  hardly  know  what  to  write.  I  do  not  know  what 
the  North  is  doing,  but  it  seems  to  me  the  South  has  gone 
crazy.  They  have  run  Mr.  Bewley  from  Texas.  He 
stopped  at  Elm  Spring,  to  rest  his  team  awhile.  A  com- 
pany of  men,  headed  by  a  Southern  Methodist  preacher, 
went  out  and  ordered  him  to  leave;  he  started  on  for  Mis- 
souri. The  other  day  there  came  a  company  of  men  from 


CAPTURE  AND  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.  157 

Texas,  with  a  thousand  dollars  reward  for  him.  They  said 
he  had  been  the  cause  of  burning  five  or  six  towns,  but  no 
one  who  knows  him  here  believes  it;  but  I  expect  they 
will  hang  him.  A  company  came  out  and  told  Mr.  Bewley 
to  leave.  He  told  them  'he  would  die  first.'  They  said 
they  intended  to  drive  every  Northern  Methodist  out  of 
Texas." 

A  traveler  in  Texas  states  "that  during  his  travels  in 
Texas  he  met  with  Bewley,  who  told  him  that  the  mob 
were  then  in  pursuit  of  him,  and  that  he  expected  to'  be 
taken,  carried  back,  and  hung.  Upon  inquiring  of  Bewley 
what  he  had  been  doing,  he  replied  that  he  had  done  noth- 
ing, but  was  a  law-abiding  man,  and  the  only  crime  with 
which  he  was  charged  was  that  of  being  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church."  A  great  crime,  indeed!  Af- 
ter some  other  conversation,  our  friend  and  Bewley  parted. 

5.  When  Mr.  Bewley,  after  attending  Conference  and  pay- 
ing a  visit  to  his  friends  in  Missouri,  returned  to  his  field 
of  labor  in  Texas,  he  found  the  public  mind  very  much  ex- 
cited against  him,  and,  as  mob-law  had  been  established  in 
Texas  by  their  Legislature,  he  saw  there  was  no  prospect 
of  his  serving  the  Church,  and  that  his  life  was  in  immi- 
nent danger,  as  threats  of  assault  in  various  ways  had  been 
made  in  terms  and  in  a  manner  that  he  could  not  mistake. 
He  remembered  the  injunction  of  our  Lord,  "When  they 
persecute  you  in  one  city,  flee  to  another." 

Accordingly  in  July,  about  the  17th,  he  left  his  residence 
in  Texas.  He  left,  also,  all  the  property  he  had,  besides 
the  team  and  carriage  by  which  he  and  his  family  traveled, 
and  it  was  lost  to  them  forever.  He  had  no  time  to  dispose 
of  it,  and  if  he  had  had  the  storm  raised  by  his  persecutors 
would  have  prevented  any  adjustment.  No  one  would  have 
dared  to  act  as  his  agent,  and,  indeed,  purchasers  might 
have  exposed  themselves  to  suspicion  first,  then  accusation, 


158  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

and  then  summary  vengeance,  in  pursuance  of  the  newly 
recognized  mob-law.  It  was  practically  in  force  before  that 
period,  for  special  cases;  now  mob  outrages  became  part  and 
parcel  of  the  law  of  the  land. 

About  10  o'clock  in  the  day,  near  the  middle  of  July, 
1860,  Mr.  Bewley,  Mrs.  Bewley,  and  their  son  George,  then 
eleven  years  old,  quit  their  Texan  home,  and,  traveling  in  a 
spring-wagon,  came  on  to  the  Indian  Territory.  There  they 
remained  eleven  days,  waiting  for  the  rest  of  the  family. 
The  first  two  or  three  nights  of  their  journey  Mrs.  Bewley 
kept  watch,  and  then  they  drove  and  watched  alternately. 
Mrs.  Bewley  often  drove  while  Mf.  Bewley  slept.  They 
pursued  their  journey  often  at  night,  and  mostly  through 
byways,  to  shun  exposure. 

The  part  of  the  family  left  behind  were  Mrs.  Roper,  Mrs. 
Garoot,  William,  aged  nineteen,  John,  sixteen,  Sarah,  four- 
teen, and  Robert,  aged  nine  years.  These  at  length  followed 
the  rest  of  the  family,  and  joined  them  in  the  Indian  Terri- 
tory. Here  they  all  rejoiced  together  that  they  had  thus 
far  escaped  the  bloody  hands  of  those  who  sought  the  life 
of  their  beloved  parent  and  head,  who  was  persecuted  for 
the  testimony  he  bore,  on  the  one  hand,  to  the  purity  of  re- 
ligion, and,  on  the  other,  against  a  great  moral  wrong. 

6.  The  whole  company  then  came  on  to  Benton  county, 
Arkansas,  where  Mr.  Bewley  was  acquainted.     There  they 
remained  and  rested  a  few  days  in  the  Brickey  neighbor- 
hood.    One  of  his  sons-in-law,  Mr.  Garoot,  went  on  ahead 
to   Missouri,   between    Keetsville   and    Cassville,   in    Barry 
county. 

7.  The  day  they  left  the  Brickey  settlement  a  mob  of  Ar- 
kansans  followed,  and  overtook  them  about  12  o'clock,  at  a 
place  where  they  had  stopped  to  get  dinner.     This  was  on 
September  3d.     The  pursuers  rode  up,  armed  with  bowie- 
knives  and  six-shooters,  and  having  a  bottle  of  whisky.    One 


CAPTURE  AND  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.  159 

was  leading  a  horse  blind  in  one  eye,  while  all  the  others 
were  well  mounted. 

As  they  rode  up,  two  by  two,  the  leader  asked  Mr.  B. 
if  his  name  was  Bewley.  He  answered  in  the  affirmative. 
They  then  questioned  him  as  to  his  views  on  slavery.  He 
proposed  to  give  them  an  address  on  that  subject,  but  they 
declined,  so  he  could  only  make  some  brief  statements  to 
them  on  the  subject.  They  then  threatened  to  hang  him, 
and  cursed  him  bitterly.  Sometimes  they  would  ask  him  to 
leave,  and  then  they  would  stop  him,  and  thus  endeavor  to 
provoke  him.  One  of  them,  in  taunt,  offered  him  a  negro. 

Mr.  Bewley's  sons,  William  and  John,  were  armed,  and 
ready  to  defend  and  protect  their  parent,  but  the  circum- 
stances prevented  the  use  of  their  weapons. 

One  of  the  mob,  a  Mr.  Smith,  questioned  Mr.  Bewley  as 
to  whether  one  of  his  sons  had  not  been  killed  in  coalition 
with  two  negroes.  To  this  Mr.  Bewley  replied  that  all  their 
sons  were  with  them  except  the  one  who  had  died  in  Texas. 
This  Mr.  Smith  had  often  heard  Mr.  Bewley  preach,  and 
when  Mrs.  Bewley  observed  to  him  that  it  was  hard  to  be 
treated  thus,  the  response  was  that  they  must  stand  up  for 
Southern  rights. 

Finally  they  suffered  Mr.  Bewley  to  set  out  on  his  jour- 
ney. The  whole  ten  of  them  sometimes  went  before,  and 
sometimes  behind,  while  some  mostly  went  along  beside  him. 
While  proceeding  thus  they  seemed  to  be  on  the  lookout  for 
a  suitable  tree  and  place  to  hang  him. 

At  last  they  all  dropped  off  but  two,  who  proceeded  a 
little  ahead.  They  afterward  turned  back,  toward  evening, 
and  said  to  Mr.  Bewley,  should  he  proceed  to  Illinois  or 
Indiana,  they  would  allow  him  to  go  unmolested;  but,  should 
they  go  to  Kansas,  they  should  find  them  out  and  seize  him. 
Then  they  left. 

The  Patriot  of  September  15,  I860,  published  at  Sherman, 


160  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM.' 

Grayson  county,  Texas,  says  that  "  Bewley  was  pursued  from 
Texas,  by  A.  G.  Brayman  and  Joe  Johnson,  to  Cassville, 
Mo.,  captured,  and  brought  back  on  the  overland  stage  on 
Monday  evening" — probably  September  10th.  The  editor 
adds  that  he  saw  him,  and  proceeds  to  describe  his  personal 
appearance,  and  conversation  with  him,  in  which  he  assured 
Bewley  that  "if  any  thing  whatever  was  substantiated  to 
show  his  guilt,  $40,000,000  would  not  save  him."  He  ac- 
cused Bewley  of  being  one  of  "the  Timber  Creek  Conference, 
presided  over  by  Bishop  Janes,"  all  of  whom  fled  but  Bew- 
ley, and  adds,  "  Long  before  this  notice  reaches  Bishop 
Janes  his  soul  will  be  before  the  God  that  gave  it,  if  he 
has  any."  He  says  further,  "Bewley  was  saved,  while  un- 
der arrest  in  Fayetteville,  Arkansas,  only  by  the  Sheriff  of 
Washington  county.  There  were  eleven  of  these  wretches 
in  company,  but  all  escaped  but  Bewley." 

8.  Mr.  Bewley  then  came  on  to  where  Mr.  Garoot  had 
stopped,  in  Barry  county,  Missouri,  between  Cassville  and 
Keetsville,  and   there  rested  a  few  days.     He   thought  he 
would  be  safe  in  remaining  there  for  some  time.     In  this 
view  he  was  encouraged  by  one  of  his  friends  from  Tennes- 
see, who  assured  him  there  would  be  no  danger  in  doing  so. 
This,  as  the  sequel  will  show,  was  a  great  mistake  on  the 
part  of  the  good  Tennessean,  as  well  as  on  the  part  of  Mr. 
Bewley,  for  his  pursuers  were  even  then  on  his  track,  and 
the  reward  of  one  thousand  dollars  for  his  capture  and  re- 
turn to  Fort  Worth  was  proclaimed  throughout  the  South- 
West. 

9.  A  camp   meeting  of  Southern   Methodists  was  being 
held  at  that  time  at  no  great  distance  from  where  Mr.  Bew- 
ley then  was,  and  there  were  placarded   advertisements  in 
or  near  the  camp-ground  offering  a  reward  of  a  thousand 
dollars  for  the  apprehension  of  Bewley  and  his  return  to 
Fort  Worth.     This  award  was  offered  by  the  Fort  Worth 


CAPTURE  AND  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.  161 

Committee  on  Mobs,  and  one-half  was  to  be  paid  by 
the  Fort  Worth  Committee,  and  the  other  half  by  the 
Sherman  Committee,  of  Grayson  county.  Texas.  Observe, 
too,  that  the  new  mob-laws  of  Texas  authorized  this  cruel 
process. 

10.  On   Sabbath,   while   Mr.  Bewley  was   delaying,  two 
men  came  and  conversed  with  him,  and  wanted  him  to  go 
on  Monday  to  a  certain  place  and  trade  with  them.     This 
he  refused  to  do.     On  Monday  morning  he  was  remarkably 
lively,  and,  having  finished  his   breakfast,  he  stepped  out 
without  his  coat  and  vest,  as  it  was  very  warm.     He  then 
went  to   a  house  not  far  distant,  where  they  were  getting 
corn  to  feed  their  horses. 

While  thus  engaged,  a  mob  rode  up,  and  surrounding 
him  told  him  he  was  their  prisoner,  and  must  go  withrthem 
to  Fayetteville,  Arkansas.  Two  of  those  of  the  first  mob 
were  a  part  of  this.  These  were  likely  those  named  by 
the  Sherman  Patriot,  as  pursuing  him  from  Texas,  namely, 
A.  G.  Bray  man  and  Joe  Johnson. 

The  correspondent  of  Mr.  Robertson,  from  Arkansas, 
writes  thus  under  date  of  September  5th:  "In  the  first 
part  of  my  letter  I  told  you  a  company  had  gone  after  Mr. 
Bewley.  They  brought  him  into  Fayetteville  yesterday — 
September  4th.  He  says  he  would  not  mind  going  back  to 
Texas  if  he  could  have  a  fair  trial ;  but  such  is  the  state 
of  excitement,  he  knows  they  will  hang  him.  They  have 
him  locked  in  a  room  up  stairs  in  the  tavern.  I  have  no 
idea  they  will  let  him  bid  his  dear  family  farewell ;  and 
now  he  does  not  ever  expect  to  see  them  again."* 

When  they  surrounded  him  at  first,  they  were  about  to 
tie  him;  but,  at  the  expostulation  of  Mr.  Garoot,  they 
did  not. 

11.  When   Mr.  Bewley  and   Mr.  Garoot  urged   that  he 
might  be  permitted   to  go   to  the  house  where  his  clothes 

14 


162  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

were,  they  utterly  refused.  They  did  not  want  to  see  the 
women,  Mrs.  Bewley  and  her  two  daughters.  They  were 
also  evidently  afraid  of  Mr.  Bewley's  sons,  and  did  not 
want  to  come  in  contact  with  them.  Mrs.  Bewley  sent 
clothing  after  him  with  Mr.  Garoot,  but  they  would  listen 
to  no  expostulation,  and  hurried  on. 

Mr.  Garoot,  however,  proceeded  with  the  clothes  to  Keets- 
ville,  a  distance  of  five  miles,  where  they  allowed  him  to 
put  them  on. 

12.  As  the  mob  proceeded  from  Keetsville   to   Fayette- 
ville,  they  talked  as  if  he  would  have  a  fair  trial,  and  said 
Mr.  Garoot  and  his  wife  might  come  and  witness  the  whole 
process.     They  said  Mr.  Bewley  was  not  the  man  they  had 
taken   him   to   be.     He  was   a  gentleman,   and    should    be 
treated  well.     But  all  this,  as  the  events  showed,  was  only 
to  save  appearances,  and  prevent  his  rescue   by  his  sons 
and  others  who  might  be  disposed  to  interfere  in  his  be- 
half.    They  kept  out  of  view   the   taking   him   to    Texas. 
This  prevented  Mrs.  Bewley  from    attempting   to  see   him 
then,  a  circumstance  she  greatly  regrets;  but  she  could  not 
believe  that  he  would  come  to  a  tragic  end.     For  if  they 
had  not  hurried  him  off,  a  habeas  corpus  could  have  been 
obtained,  which  they   greatly   feared,   as   Mr.   Bewley   had 
many  friends  in  Fayetteville  and  other  places  not  far  from 
the  scene  of  these  disgraceful  offenses. 

13.  From  Missouri  they  hurried  him  on  into  Arkansas. 
They    conveyed    him    on    a  horse,  telling   those   they  met 
that  they  were  breaking  a  young  colt.     In  this  way  they 
brought  h*rn  to  Fayetteville.     There  they  suffered  the  mob 
to  curse  him  and  call  him  an  abolitionist,-  negro  thief,  and 
every  other  offensive  name  they  could  think  of,  so  that  he 
was   moved  to  tears.     They   kept   him    there    a   few   days, 
abusing  shamefully  any  of  his  friends  who  came  to  see  him, 
and  sending  out  word  that  they  had  started,  or  were  about 


CAPTURE  AND  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.  163 

1o  start   that  evening,  or  next  morning,  all  the  time  they 
kept  him  at  Fayetteville. 

After  all  the  ignominious  treatment  they  could  heap 
upon  him,  they  set  out  from  Fayetteville,  our  best  accounts 
say  in  the  overland  stage,  others  say  in  a  hack.  It'is  also 
said  he  was  tied  or  chained  to  a  post  in  the  stage. 

As  he  passed  through  Van  Buren,  he  addressed  the 
people  on  the  street,  from  the  stage,  while  making  a  tem- 
porary stay.  Many  citizens  here,  as  well  as  friends,  we 
learn  afterward  regretted  they  had  not  rescued  him  from 
the  hands  of  the  mob-. 

At  his  last  supper,  he  was  heard  saying  that  he  would 
never  see  another  sun,  but  would  die  an  innocent  man. 

14.  We  may  here  notice  the  letter  which  Mr.  Bewley 
wrote  to  his  wife  and  family.  Mrs.  Bewley,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  left  on  the  road  with  her  children,  when  her  hus- 
band was  seized  by  the  mob,  not  knowing  what  to  do,  or 
where  to  go.  Her  blind  daughter  Catherine  was  left  at 
Springfield,  Mo.,  when  the  family  went  to  Texas,  and 
remained  there  till  after  the  death  of  her  father. 

We  give  the  letter  as  published  in  the  Central  Christian 
Advocate  of  January  9,  1861.  As  the  letter  shows,  it  was 
furnished  us  by  Rev.  M.  Robertson,  presiding  elder  in  the 
Kansas  Conference;  but  formerly  the  faithful  fellow-laborer 
with  Bewley  in  Arkansas,  Missouri,  and  Texas. 

"  Sept.  5,  1860,  FAYETTEVILLK,  ARK. 

"DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN, — I  never  took  up  my 
pen  under  such  circumstances  before.  After  I  left  there 
that  day,  I  was  hurried  on,  and  the  next  day,  about  nine 
or  ten  o'clock,  we  got  to  Fayetteville.  I  am  here  yet. 
They  have  not  put  me  in  jail,  but  keep  me  under  guard. 
At  night  I  am  chained  fast  to  some  person,  and  in  the  day 
I  have  liberty  to  walk  about  with  the  guard.  I  have  been 
in  the  general  tolerable,  though  my  company  in  general  has 


164  SOUTH-WESTEKN  METHODISM. 

not  been  as  desirable  as  some."  They  are  now  after  Tom 
Willet.  So  soon  as  they  succeed  in  getting  him,  I  suppose 
they  will  set  out  with  us  to  Texas  in  the  overland  stage, 
and  if  so,  hand  us  over  to  the  Fort  Worth  Committee,  and 
receive  the  reward.  Then  we  will,  I  suppose,  be  under 
their  supervision,  to  do  with  us  as  seemeth  them  good. 
And  if  that  takes  place,  dear  and  much  beloved  wife  and 
loving  children,  I  shall  never  in  this  life  expect  to  see  you; 
but  I  shall  look  to  meet  you  all,  with  our  little  babe  that 
has  already  gone  to  that  blessed  heaven  of  repose.  The 
reason  why  I  so  speak,  in  these  times  of  heated  excitement, 
mole-hills  are  raised  mountain-high,  and  where  there  are 
none,  it  is  frequently  imagined  they  see  something.  That 
being  the  case,  it  seems  it  is  enough  to  know  that  we  are 
'North  Methodists,'  as  they  are  called;  and  from  what  we 
learned  in  Texas  about  that  Fort  Worth  Committee,  they 
had  sworn  vengeance  against  all  such  folks.  I  expect  when 
they  get  us  we  will  go  the  trip.  But,  dear  wife  and  chil- 
dren, who  are  big  enough  to  know  about  these  things,  know 
that,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  all  these  things  are  false. 
You  have  been  with  me,  and  you  know  as  well  as  I  do 
that  none  of  these  things  have ,  ever  been  countenanced 
about  our  house,  but  that  we  have  repudiated  such  to  the 
last.  So  you  see  that  I  am  innocent,  and  you,  my  love, 
will  have  the  lasting  satisfaction  to  know  that  your  husband 
was  innocent,  for  you  have  been  with  me  for  some  twenty- 
six  years,  and  your  constitution  is  emaciated  and  gone  down 
to  feebleness.  You  will  have  to  spend  the  remaining  part 
of  your  life  as  a  bereaved  widow,  with  your  orphan  chil- 
dren, with  one  blind  daughter.  Now  my  feelings  I  can  not 
describe,  but  I  know  there  is  a  God  that  doeth  right.  As 
I  was  taken  away,  and  was  not  even  permitted  to  see  you, 
that  I  might  bid  you  and  the  children  farewell,  I  have  to 
do  it  in  this  way,  and  would  say  to  all  to  try  to  continue 


CAPTURE  AND  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.  165 

your  way  onward  to  heaven.  Tell  George  and  baby,  when 
they  get  old  enough,  they  must  seek  religion  and  be  good 
boys,  and  meet  pa  in  heaven.  I  want  William  and  John, 
as  they  are  the  oldest,  to  bp  good  to  their  mother  and  their 
blind  sister. 

"Do  with  your  scant  means  as  you  think  best.  I  have 
feelings — I  can  not  tell  you  how  I  feel  for  you.  There  on 
the  road,  in  your  wagons,  we  thought  ourselves  at  home. 
But  I  can  only  leave  you  in  the  hands  of  Him  in  whom  I 
put  my  trust.  I  know  you  will  not  forget  me  in  your 
prayers;  you  have  mine — shall  have  while  I  have  breath. 
I  believe  much  in  prayer.  I  feel  no  guilt,  from  the  fact 
that  I  have  done  nothing  to  cause  that  feeling.  Dear  Jane, 
I  can  not  tell  you  what  is  the  best  course  for  you  to  pur- 
sue, but  I  want  you  to  get  somewhere  that  the  children 
can  have  a  chance  at  school.  Keep  as  clear  of  these  one- 
horse  towns  as  you  can.  Frequently,  at  such  places,  boys 
are  early  led  astray.  I  do  hope  that  the  good  Lord  will 
comfort  you  and  guide  you  to  the  best  conclusions. 

"I  would  be  glad  you  would  tell  Henry  M'Cary  to  write 
to  Capt.  Daget,  at  Fort  Worth,  my  standing  since  he  was 
first  acquainted  with  me,  and  when  you  write  to  your 
friends,  tell  them  to  do  so  too,  or  as  they  choose.  I  now 
close  by  subscribing  myself  your  affectionate  husband  and 
father,  ANTHONY  BEWLEY. 

"You  will  doubtless  preserve  this  imperfect  scroll. 

"A.  B. 
"This  is  September  6th,  1860. 

"  CITY  OP  FAYETTEVILLE,  ARK. 

"  I,  with  a  portion  of  the  vigilance  committee,  will  leave 
Fayetteville  to-night  sometime.  The  committee  has  re- 
turned without  Willet,  and  have  given  up  hunting  him  any 
more.  A.  BEWLEY." 


166  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

"BROTHER  ELLIOTT, — The  above  is  a  fac-simile  of 
brother  B.'s  letter  to  his  wife,  seven  days  before  his  exe- 
cution. I  have  not  changed  one  word  in  it.  I  send  it  to 
the  Central  for  publication,  as  many  will  be  glad  to  know 
any  facts  concerning  his  last  days.  We  have  delayed  to 
do  this,  hoping  that  news  of  his  release  would  reach  us,  for 
we  were  not  prepared  to  believe  that  all  traces  of  human- 
ity were  blotted  out  in  Texas.  But  in  this  it  seems  we 
were  mistaken.  M.  ROBERTSON. 

"  Mrs.  Bewley's  post-office  address  is  Humboldt,  Kansas 
Territory.  As  Mrs.  Bewley  is  in  want,  any  thing  addressed 
to  David  Reese  or  myself,  at  Mound  City,  will  be  conveyed 
carefully  to  her,  till  different  arrangements  can  be  made. 
As  several  letters  of  inquiry  have  been  addressed  to  me,  I 
would  say,  she  has  one  horse,  five  pony  colts,  one  cow  and 
calf,  and  about  one  month's  provision.  She  is  well  worthy  the 
MATERIAL  sympathy  of  all.  Inducements  have  recently  been 
held  out  to  her  to  leave  this  Territory  to  join  the  Church 
South;  but  she  prefers  rather  to  suffer  affliction  with  the 
people  of  God  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a 
season.  M.  ROBERTSON,  P.  E., 

"  Oltumwa  District,  Kansas  Conference." ' 

15.  When  the  mob  had  reached  Fort  Worth,  Texas,  with 
Mr.  Bewley,  they  put  him  in  charge  of  a  hotel-keeper. 
He  was  much  fatigued,  and  was  suffered  to  retire  early, 
uninformed  of  the  gloomy  fate  hovering  so  near  him. 

A  little  slave  showed  him  to  his  room  up  stairs.  His 
ardent  prayer  offered,  a  good  conscience  united  with  tired 
nature  quickly  to  lull  the  venerable  man  into  a  sweet  and 
quiet  sleep.  About  eleven  o'clock  he  was  taten  from  his 
bed  by  three  men,  and  when  they  reached  the  street,  they 
were  joined  by  a  crowd  there  assembled.  They  took  him 
a  few  hundred  yards  away,  and  there,  amid  vile  ribaldry 
and  horrid  oaths,  that  made  midnight  hideous,  they  hung 


CAPTURE  AND  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.      167 

the  unblemished  man  of  God.  But  the  bravest  soul  that 
listened  to  the  violent  throbbings  of  that  feverish  and 
eventful  night,  was  the  man  who  died.  He  ascended  to  his 
native  place,  his  long-sought  destiny.  They  retreated,  as 
cowering  hounds  from  a  neighboring  fold,  with  overcast 
visages  and  theft-glutted  greed,  yet  ill  at  ease,  to  seek  re- 
pose, but,  alas,  only  to  find  themselves  tossed  by  appari- 
tions in  disquiet  slumber.  Mr.  Bewley  was  suspended  upon 
the  same  limb  and  tree  upon  which  several  negroes  and  a 
Northern  man  named  Crawford  had  been  hung. 

This  gallows  had  been  called  "the  Crawford  limb;"  after 
this,  however,  the  people  called  it  "  the  Bewley  limb." 

Such  an  event  must  of  course  be  somewhat  variously 
reported,  but  the  above  may  be  regarded  as  reliable  beyond 
a  doubt. 

The  Arkansan,  a  paper  published  at  Fayetteville,  says : 
"  Bewley  was  taken  to  Fort  Worth,  where  he  was  tried, 
condemned,  and  hung.  There  was  enough  evidence  against 
him  to  hang  twenty  men.  Bewley  expected  to  be  hung, 
said  so  here,  said  so  along  the  road,  whenever  the  people  of 
Fort  Worth  got  him.  The  history  of  his  trial  will  furnish 
our  readers  with  the  proofs  and  circumstances  of  his  guilt. 
Bewley  made  no  confession ;  he  said  if  he  made  a  confession 
they  would  hang  him,  and  if  he  did  not  make  a  confession 
they  would  hang  him  any  how,  and  he  was  not  going  to 
make  one  for  the  world  to  blow  about.  He  could  have 
made  one,  and  it  would  serve  the  ends  of  justice.  There  is 
no  doubt  of  the  guilt  of  other  parties,  whose  names  are 
mentioned  in  Bailey's  letter,  and  they  are  all  under  watch 
and  will  get  their  meeds,  if  ever  they  see  Texas." 

There  are  some  true  statements  in  the  foregoing,  such  as 
that  Bewley  was  taken  to  Fort  Worth,  was  condemned, 
made  no  confession,  and  was  hung.  There  are  also  mani- 
fest falsehoods  in  the  above  narrative,  such  as  that  Mr. 


168  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Bewley  was  tried,  that  there  was  testimony  enough  against 
him  to  hang  twenty  persons,  etc. 

The  Rev.  H.  W.  South,  in  a  letter  dated  Waxahachie, 
Texas,  October  4,  1860,  published  in  the  Nashville  Chris- 
tian Advocate  of  October  31,  I860,  states,  among  other 
things,  that  Mr.  Bewley  was  followed  to  the  vicinity  of 
Springfield,  Mo.,  taken  and  brought  back  to  Fort  Worth, 
and,  on  the  13th  of  September,  1860,  was  hung  on  the 
same  limb  of  the  same  tree  on  which  Mr.  Crawford  had 
been  hung  before. 

The  following  letter  from  Mr.  D.  0.  Hoover  relates  to 
these  events,  and  deserves  a  place  here : 

"  STOCKWELL,  IND.,  December  4,  1860. 

"BROTHER  ELLIOTT,  —  My  family  has  at  last  arrived 
from  the  bloody  land  of  inobocracy,  North-Western  Texas, 
from  which  I  was  cruelly  driven  in  July  last.  My  family 
says  the  mob  stopped  near  my  house  at  a  Mr.  Penn's,  and 
took  dinner,  while  taking  brother  Bewley  back  to  Fort 
Worth.  While  there,  the  good  old  man,  pointing  to  the 
sun,  remarked,  that  was  the  last  setting  sun  he  should 
ever  see. 

"  Shortly  after  dinner  they  marched  him  off  to  Fort 
Worth.  At  the  regular  hour  "for  supper  he  went  to  the 
tavern  and  ate  his  last  meal  with  a  set  of  bloodthirsty 
assassins  of  the  South.  He  was  then  taken  a  short  dis- 
tance from  town  by  a  party  of  those  demons,  and  there, 
with  a  rope  entwined  around  his  neck,  he  was  suspended 
between  the  heavens  and  the  earth  like  a  dog,  to  die  by 
the  hands  of  his  fellow-men.  After  letting  him  remain  all 
night  in  this  position,  a  hole  was  dug  by  two  negro  men. 
The  dead  victim  was  then  taken  down  by  these  two  Afri- 
cans and  thrown  in  without  coffin  or  box,  the  dirt  then 
thrown  upon  him  scarcely  covering;  his  body.  They  report 
they  found  him  in  a  field  helping  to  gather  corn.  He 


CAPTURE  AND  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.  169 

desired  before  being  marched  away  to  return  to  the  house 
and  take  leave  of  his  friends.  This  privilege  they  denied 
him.  He  was  then  in  possession  of  one  dollar,  which  he 
wished  to  be  sent  to  his  wife.  This  request  was  also  hooted 
at,  and  the  poor  defenseless  prisoner  driven  away  by  his 
merciless  enemies. 

"  While  living  in  Texas,  brother  Bewley  preached  at  my 
house  time  and  again,  during  a  period  of  four  years,  and 
many  are  the  times  I  have  accompanied  this  good  man 
from  one  appointment  to  another,  but  never  did  I  hear  him 
hint  any  thing  that  would  prejudice  the  negro  against  his 
master,  nor  did  I  ever  hear  him  preach  an  abolition  dis- 
course. But  the  whole  matter  was,  he  was  a  member  of 
the  old  Church,  and  that  was  all  they  could  say  against 
him.  One  of  the  clan,  Julius  Smith,  remarked,  that  the 
time  had  come  that  ninety-nine  innocent  had  better  suf- 
fer than  let  one  guilty  escape.  Thus,  my  friends,  lived 
and  died  a  valiant  soldier  of  the  Xord  and  Savior  Jesus 
Christ. 

"  There  is  not  now  in  Texas  a  member  of  the  old  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  that  dare  own  his  membership." 

But  the  scene  of  Bewley's  murder  does  not  end  with  his 
unlawful  arrest,  his  treatment  on  the  long  journey  from 
Missouri  to  Fort  Worth,  over  five  hundred  miles,  and  the 
shameless  act  of  brutal  execution.  His  burial  the  next 
day  corresponded  with  his  death.  Not  even  a  decent  grave 
was  opened  for  his  reception.  A  very  shallow  opening  was 
made  in  the  ground,  ttie  rope  by  which  he  was  hanging 
was  cut,  and  without  shroud  or  coffin  the  remains  of  the 
martyred  man  were  then  deposited,  with  scarcely  a  covering 
of  mother  earth.  It  is  said,  too,  that  when  the  interment 
was  finished,  his  bare  knees  were  seen  protruding  above 
the  scanty  soil  that  but  half  covered  the  corpse,  while  the 
length  of  the  shallow  grave  was  too  scant  to  permit  his 

15 


170  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

lifeless  remains  to  be  placed  horizontally,  and  liis  limbs  to 
be  extended  in  the  usual  natural  posture  of  interment. 

Hon.  Ellis  GL  Evans,  of  Holla,  Mo.,  addressed  a  commu- 
nication to  the  Central  Christian  Advocate,  September  7, 
1867,  relative  to  this  martyrdom  and  the  burial  of  its  vic- 
tim, in  which  he  says : 

"  The  next  day  the  body  was  taken  down  and  put  under 
the  ground,  but  in  about  three  weeks  was  taken  up,  and 
the  bones  were  stripped  of  their  flesh  and  put  upon  the 
roof  of  the  storehouse  of  '  Captain '  Eph.  Daggett,  who  still 
resides  at  that  place  in  affluence.  The  bones  seemed  to  be 
in  the  care  of  Dr.  Peak,  who  occasionally  went  up  and 
turned  them  about.  The  boys,  making  that  a  play-place, 
would  set  up  the  bones  in  a  variety  of  attitudes  by  bending 
the  joints  of  the  arms  and  legs,  and  further  mocked  these 
remains  of  this  humble  Christian  by  crying,  l  old  Bewley,' 
'  old  abolitionist,'  etc." 

Thus  the  last  stroke  of  abusive  ignominy  is  laid  upon 
the  wasting  bones  of  him  they  "  hated  without  a  cause." 
Exhausting  their  own  capacities  for  insult  and  injury,  they 
teach  and  commission  the  lips  of  innocent  childhood  to 
deepen,  if  possible,  and  perpetuate  their  work  of  shame, 
and  to  be  its  defenders  in  after  years,  when  the  perpetrators 
of  the  iniquity  are  dead  and  gone.  The  bones  of  the  mar- 
tyr, disallowed  the  quiet  of  even  a  barbarous  grave,  are 
held  by  a  hate-sealed  lease,  in  the  face  of  the  refined  and 
pious  community  of  Fort  Worth,  as  a  relic  of  a  former 
and  now  sometimes  lamented  civilization.  One  of  these 
days  a  trumpet  call  will  annul  their  lease,  and  persecutors 
and  persecuted  will  stand  face  to  face  in  judgment. 

The  editor  of  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate  gives  the 
following  account  of  the  case  of  Bewley,  from  a  reliable 
source,  as  he  says,  although  it  has  his  own  image  and  su- 
perscription upon  it. 


CAPTURE  AND  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.  171 

"  1.  Mr.  Bewley  was  carried  to  Fort  Worth,  after  his 
arrest,  by  the  men  from  Arkansas,  and  there,  at  or  near 
Fort  Worth,  he  was  tried  by  the  civil  authorities,  and  re- 
quired to  give  bail  to  appear  for  trial  before  a  higher  court. 
This  he  could  not  or  did  not  do,  and  was  ordered  to  prison. 

"  2.  On  the  way  to  prison  a  mob  overpowered  the  sheriff 
and  his  posse,  took  Bewley  and  hung  him.  Our  informant 
did  not  see  these  things,  but  heard  them  in  Texas,  from 
what  he  regarded  as  reliable  authority,  and  believed  them 
to  be  true. 

>  "  3.  The  evidence  on  which  Bewley  was  sent  on  for  fur- 
ther trial,  consisted  partly  in  what  sundry  persons  testified 
they  had  heard  him  say,  and  partly  in  statements  made  by 
others  who  had  been  arrested  and  punished.  These  state- 
ments implicated  him  as  one  of  the  party  organized  to 
carry  out  the  purposes  expressed  in  the  Bailey  letter;  but 
the  evidence  consisted  mainly  in  the  fact  that  the  original 
Bailey  letter  was  produced  at  the  trial,  and  Bewley  ac- 
knowledged he  had  received  and  subsequently  lost  it" 

Allow,  for  the  moment,  that  Mr.  Bewley,  according  to 
the  above,  had  a  trial ;  Dr.  M'Anally  here  acknowledges 
that  the  main  proof  against  him  was  "  the  Bailey  letter," 
which  has  all  the  internal  marks  of  a  forgery  or  an  im- 
position. Any  man  may  have  such  a  letter  addressed  to 
him  through  the  post-office,  without  any  participation  what- 
ever in  its  contents. 

Dr.  M'Anally  then  utters  the  following :  "  The  cry  in 
several  papers  that  he — Bewley — was  charged  with  nothing 
except  being  a  Northern  Methodist  preacher  is  utterly  and 
ivholly  false.  Whether  he  was  or  was  not  guilty  of  the 
charges  brought  against  him  we  do  not  know.  He  was 
naturally  of  a  self-willed,  stubborn  disposition,  and  remark- 
ably persistent  in  efforts  to  carry  out  what  he  undertook. 
But,  if  ever  so  guilty,  he  ought  to  have  had  a  fair  trial, 


172  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

and  ought  not  to  have  been  mobbed ;  and  it  is  all  so  much 
the  worse  if  he  were  innocent."  2 

Whoever  considers  the  purport  of  the  resolutions  of  the 
Fabius  township  meetings,  and  hundreds  of  other  such 
declarations,  as  well  as  the  declarations  of  Bishop  Pierce, 
finds  it  is  strictly  and  literally  true,  that  to  be  a  decided 
minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  or  a  member, 
professing  the  antislavery  principles  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  is  the  highest  crime  known  in  the  moral 
code  of  the  pro-slavery  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South. 
Or  to  be  a  Northern  Methodist  in  the  South-West,  till  re- 
cently, was  the  same  as  being  guilty  of  the  highest  crime, 
worthy  of  death,  banishment,  or  any  other  penalty. 

Bishop  Morris,  in  a  letter  written  to  Rev.  B.  N.  Brown, 
which  was  published  November  17,  1860,  thus  represents 
the  crime  of  being  a  member  or  preacher  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  slave  territory.  He  says:  "Look  at 
it.  Our  Missouri  Conference  was,  a  few  years  since,  pre- 
vented by  threats  of  violence  from  meeting  at  Independence ; 
Arkansas  Conference  was  mobbed  off  from  Texas ;  Ken- 
tucky Conference  was  warned  not  to  meet  at-  Germantown 
last  Spring,  though  it  did  meet.  An  effort  was  seriously 
contemplated  recently  in  the  Virginia  Legislature,  to  drive 
all  our  ministers  out  of  the  State.  Still  more  recently,  one 
of  our  godly  and  inoffensive  ministers,  A.  Bewley,  was  hung 
by  a  Texan  mob  for  no  crime  but  connection  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  All  which  outrages,  and 
many  more,  the  papers  of  the  Church  South  either  indorsed 
or  winked  at.  Very  many  of  her  preachers  have  publicly 
warned  the  people  against  us  as  dangerous  incendiaries."3 

Although  one  thousand  dollars  was  offered  for  the 
seizure  and  delivery  of  Bewley  at  Fort  Worth,  one  half  to 

a  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate,  November  8,  I860,  p.  54. 
»  Central  Christian  Advocate,  November  21,  I860,  p.  59. 


CAPTURE  AND  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.  173 

be  paid  by  the  Fort  "Worth  Committee  on  Mobs,  and  the  other 
half  by  the  Sherman  Committee  of  Grayson  county,  Texas, 
the  advertisers  for  innocent  blood  thought  it  no  crime  to 
withhold  three-fourths  of  the  price  for  the  murder.  Five 
men  took  him  back,  and  received  only  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars,  or  fifty  dollars  apiece.  It  was  said  that  this 
pittance  was  "not  enough  to  pay  their  liquor  bills,"  if  they 
drank' as  much  as  when  at  home.  They  expected,  accord- 
ing to  the  public  pledge,  to  receive  one  thousand  dol- 
lars, but  were  put  off  with  one-fourth  of  the  sum.  The 
brethren  of  Joseph  sold  him  for  a  certain  sum,  but  they 
received  the  whole  amount  promised,  even  from  these 
traders  in  human  flesh  and  blood.  The  Jews,  who  bought 
the  Savior  of  the  world  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  were 
honorable  men  compared  with  these  Texan  advertisers;  for 
they  did  not  cheat  even  the  traitor  Judas  out  of  seven  and 
a  half  pieces,  or  one-fourth  of  the  stipulated  price  of  blood, 
much  less  three-fourths  of  the  whole  sum.  Nay,  they 
refused  to  receive  back  the  price  of  blood  from  the  penitent 
betrayer,  and  bought  a  burying-place  for  strangers;  while 
these  Texan  murderers  would  not  afford  one  poor  un- 
coffined  grave,  of  generous  depth  and  length,  for  their 
martyred  victim.  They  gave  him  short  measure  in  length, 
and  even  grudged  enough  of  mother  earth  to  cover  the 
naked  remains  of  one  of  her  noblest  and  best  sons. 

16.  Let  us  now  survey  the  life  and  acts  of  Bewley,  and 
note  his  proper  character. 

He  was  admitted  into  the  traveling  connection  in  the 
Holston  Conference,  at  Abingdon,  Va.,  December  24th,  the 
same  year  with  Dr.  M'Anally  and  others;  and  previous  to 
his  admission,  as  well  as  during  his  five  years  of  ministerial 
service,  and  after  his  location,  he  maintained  an  unblem- 
ished character;  and  this,  too,  in  the  very  country  where 
he  was  born  and  grew-  up  to  maturity.  It  was  also  in  a 


174  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

slaveholding  country,  Tennessee.  So  far,  we  have  a  sufficient 
guarantee,  certainly  for  good  character,  so  that  the  charge 
of  incendiarism  could  not  be  made  against  him  while  in  his 
native  State. 

When  he  lived  in  Missouri,  before  he  recommenced  pas- 
toral duties,  no  allegations  were  brought  against  him  by  his 
neighbors  or  others  for  any  thing  contrary  to  the  character 
of  a  law-abiding  citizen,  in  all  respects,  whether  in  regard 
to  slavery  or  any  thing  else. 

While  a  member  of  the  Missouri  Conference,  from 
October  4,  1843,  to  1848,  and  then  of  the  Arkansas  Con- 
ference till  his  death  in  1860,  no  just  charge  could  be 
brought  against  him  by  those  outside  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  or  those  in  it.  The  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  authorities,  whether  Conferences  or  bishops,  would 
not  tolerate  a  preacher  who  would  engage  in  seducing  slaves 
to  leave  their  masters.  This  never  was  tolerated  among 
the  members  or  preachers,  in  slave  territory,  by  the  rules 
or  authorities  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  whether 
the  thing  in  itself  is  right  or  wrong. 

Dr.  M'Anally,  under  date  of  September  13,  1860,  says  in 
the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate:  "In  regard  to  Rev.  A. 
Bewley,  we  have  yet  to  be  satisfied  that  he  met  the  fate 
reported;  but  if  it  be  true  that  he  was  hung  by  a  mob  in 
Texas,  few  men  will  regret  it  more,  or  condemn  the  act 
more  heartily  or  honestly  than  we  will.  He  was  one  of 
our  classmates  in  the  Holston  Conference;  was  admitted 
into  the  Conference  at  the  same  time;  ordained  deacon  by 
Bishop  Hedding  at  the  same  time ;  ordained  elder  by 
Bishop  Roberts  at  the  same  time;  and  as  we  labored 
together  for  some  years,  in  the  same  Conference,  it  is  fair 
to  presume  we  would  deeply  regret  he  could  meet  a  fate  so 
untimely,  cruel,  and  merciless.  Still,  if  such  a  fate  he 
really  met,  it  by  no  means  follows  that  it  grew  out  of  what 


CAPTURE  AND  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.  175 

the  editor  calls  'the  enormity  of  tlie  system  of  slavery.'  It 
might  have  occurred  from  various  causes  other  than  this." 

Hon.  E.  G.  Evans,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  him 
for  many  years,  speaks  thus,  October  6,  1860 :  "  I  knew  the 
man.  He  was  a  cautious,  deliberate  man,  born,  I  believe, 
in  Tennessee.  He  was  no  abolitionist,  though  an  antislavery 
man  of  the  Washington  and  Jefferson  school.  Modest  and 
peaceful,  he  never  asserted  all  the  rights  mentioned  by  the 
author  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision.  He  was  twice  chosen  a 
delegate  to  our  highest  ecclesiastical  council,  and  was 
esteemed  for  his  unobtrusive  but  genuine  piety.  A  large 
family,  one  member  of  which  was  a  blind  daughter,  was 
dependent  on  him.  Yet,  without  a  fair  trial,  without  a 
sworn  jury,  without  counsel,  without  forms  of  law,  it  seems 
this  brave,  this  good,  gray-haired  man  is  murdered  by  a 
mob.  Tell  not  this  country,  that  American  citizenship  is  a 
prouder  boast  than  to  be  a  Roman.  We  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  who  refuse  a  sectional  affix,  are  almost 
compelled  to  say  it  is  a  cheat,  a  sham — something  we  pay 
dearly  for,  but  which  brings  us  no  protection." 

Rev.  M.  Robertson,  who  was  very  intimate  with  him, 
writes  thus:  "Brother  Bewley  was  a  man  of  more  than 
ordinary  talent  in  the  pulpit,  of  strong  faith,  able  in  prayer, 
and  one  of  the  sweet  singers  of  Israel." 

Bishop  Morris,  who  knew  him  well,  in  his  letter  to  Rev. 
B.  N.  Brown,  writes  thus  concerning  him:  "One  of  our 
godly  and  inoffensive  ministers,  A.  Bewley,  was  hung  by  a 
Texan  mob,  for  no  other  crime  but  connection  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church."  In  his  letter  on  this  case, 
of  November  7,  1860,  the  Bishop  says:  "He  was  a  good 
man,  one  of  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit,  and  for  thirty  years 
enjoyed  the  full  confidence  and  fellowship  of  his  brethren. 
He  was  antislavery  in  the  conservative  Methodist  Sense; 
but  no  unprejudiced  man,  knowing  his  character,  believes 


176  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

that  he  sympathized  with  any  insurrectionary  movement, 
either  in  principle  or  action." 

Rev.  Joshua  Monroe,  a  very  aged  minister  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  Pittsburg  Conference,  and  a  Vir- 
ginian by  birth  and  education,  writes  thus,  December  5, 
1860:  "In  this  country  we  generally  believe  that  all  who 
participated  in  the  execution  of  A.  Bewley  are  guilty  of 
one  of  the  most  brutal  and  atrocious  murders  that  was  ever 
committed  in  our  land,  and  we  think  but  little  better  of 
those  editors  who  have  become  the  apologists  for  these 
murderers." 

Rev.  Dr.  Cartwright,  in  a  letter  to  us,  December  12, 
1860,  says:  "Brother  Bewley  I  knew  long  and  well,  and  a 
better  man  hardly  ever  lived.  He  was  no  ultra-abolitionist. 
He  was  a  peaceable,  law-abiding  citizen.  I  know  some  of 
his  murderers,  and  if  they  had  had  justice  meted  out  to 
them,  they  would  have  been  hung  long  before  they  went 
to  Texas.  The  Lord  pity  our  country!  It  seems  to  me 
that  all  law  is  to  be  outraged,  the  Constitution  to  be  over- 
thrown, the  day  of  anarchy  and  bloodshed  to  be  inaugu- 
rated, and  instead  of  enjoying  the  right  of  private  judgment 
and  liberty  of  speech,  for  which  our  fathers  fought  and 
bled,  we  are  not  to  be  allowed  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  our 
dying  fellow-men.  Nevertheless  God  reigns." 

The  foregoing  is  the  testimony  of  a  few  who  were  ac- 
quainted with  Mr.  Bewley.  The  number  could  be  increased 
indefinitely,  but  the  above  will  suffice. 

Mr.  Bewley  bore  an  excellent  character  with  all  impartial 
men,  wherever  he  was  known,  and  maintained  an  admirable 
standing  among  his  brethren.  He  was  decidedly  opposed 
to  slavery  when  his  sentiments  were  asked,  although  he  was 
not  accustomed  to  obtrude  his  opinions  on  others,  whether 
in  public  or  private.  He  never  directly  or  indirectly 
induced  slaves  to  leave  their  masters,  nor  did  he  ever 


CAPTURE  AND  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.  177 

employ  any  arguments  to  render  them  discontented  with  their 
condition,  either  in  Tennessee,  Missouri,  Arkansas,  or  Texas, 
in  all  of  which  'States  he  lived  as  a  citizen  and  labored  as 
a  pastor.  He  was  a  law-abiding  man  in  all  respects,  and 
in  every  place  where  he  lived.  As  to  his  being  associated 
with  John  Brownites,  or  any  others  of  that  class,  there 
was  nothing  of  it.  No  such  charge  was  ever  sustained 
against  him,  nor  could  it  be,  unless  by  false  witnesses. 
The  whole  and  only  charge  against  him  was,  that  he  was  a 
sound  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and 
antislavery  according  to  her  principles  and  the  teachings 
of  Holy  Scripture.  He  was  also  a  minister  in  slave  terri- 
tory, and  a  promoter  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  Missouri,  Arkansas,  and  Texas.  This  was  his  only 
crime,  and  all  the  allegations  brought  against  him  were 
founded  on  this  alone,  and  nothing  else.  While  unob- 
trusive, as  to  his  antislavery  principles,  he  never  declined 
uttering  his  opinions,  or  professing  them,  so  that  all  who 
knew  him  were  fully  aware  of  his  views. 

He  was  a  man  of  settled  principles,  and  so  honest  was 
he  in  following  them,  that  no  worldly  consideration  could 
induce  him  to  abandon,  or  modify,  or  evade  them.  Dr. 
M'Anally  says  of  him,  that  "he  was  naturally  of  a  self- 
willed,  stubborn  disposition,  and  remarkably  persistent  in 
efforts  to  carry  out  what  he  undertook."  This  is  a  high 
eulogium,  coming  from  a  Southern  Methodist  preacher.  The 
truth  is,  that  Mr.  Bewley  retained  the  views  held  by  all 
Methodists  in  the  South  when  he  was  young.  He  was  born 
in  1804,  joined  the  Church  in  1821,  and  commenced  to 
travel  in  1829.  And  up  to  that  time  all  Methodists  asked, 
"What  shall  we  do  for  the  extirpation  of  the  great 
evil  of  slavery?"  In  1835,  in  South  Carolina,  the  gifts 
of  a  Methodist  preacher,  for  the  first  time  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church,  were  perverted  and  prostituted  by  a 


178  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

plea  for  slavery.  If  any  of  them  were  pro-slavery  before, 
they  kept  their  minds  to  themselves,  and  did  not  utter  in 
public  their  moral  heresy.  Rev.  Anthony  Bewley,  in  his 
maturity,  retained  the  genuine  Methodistic  and  Scriptural 
doctrines  on  slavery  which  he  imbibed  in  the  true  Methodist 
school  while  a  youth,  and  continued  in  that  faith,  without 
swerving,  till  at  last  he  sealed  his  testimony  with  his 
blood,  shed  by  the  influence,  if  not  the  hands  indeed,  of 
Southern  Methodists,  who  abandoned  the  teachings  of  their 
better  days  and  of  the  Bible,  and  who  drank  in  the  vicious 
sophistries  of  the  Calhoun  school  of  politicians.  Happy, 
noble  man!  He  was  thus  "self-willed,"  and  "remarkably 
persistent  in  efforts"  to  carry  out  his  principles.  And  now 
he  wears  the  martyr's  crown. 

17.  Let  us  now  return  to  the  desolate  Mrs.  Bewley. 
Amid  constant  and  fearful  apprehensions  of  violence,  she, 
with  her  cherished  ones,  had  wound  her  way  through  by- 
paths from  Texas  across  the  Indian  country,  and  into  South- 
West  Missouri,  where  she  had  acquaintances.  Under  the 
harrowing  solicitude  and  wearing  watchings  and  road-serv- 
ices of  the  journey,  her  already  shattered  constitution  quite 
gave  way,  and  she  almost  sank  down  with  exhaustion  as 
her  feet  struck  the  threshold  of  her  friend's  dwelling. 
Not  even  here  could  she  find  rest.  Bribed  assassins  were 
even  then  lingering  on  their  footsteps.  Their  cowardly 
strategy  soon  enables  them  to  seize  her  husband  when  de- 
fenseless. 

Denying  him  the  privilege  of  seeing  again  his  family, 
caressing  his  children,  or  bidding  them  a  final  farewell, 
they  hurry  their  victim  away  as  an  ox  to  the  slaughter. 
Covering  their  black,  murderous,  and  covetous  designs  with 
hypocritical  pretenses,  they  hasten  the  innocent  man,  half- 
clad,  toward  the  place  of  butchery,  looking  forward  for  the 
reward  of  iniquity,  the  promised  thousand  dollars.  Under 


CAPTURE  AND  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.  179 

such  circumstances  was  Mrs.  Bewley  left  with  her  family 
on  the  road,  almost  destitute  of  means  of  support.  What 
to  do,  whither  to  go  she  knew  not.  In  this  perplexing  ex- 
igency, she  and  her  family  proceeded  to  Southern  Kansas, 
Allen  county,  five  miles  below  Humboldt,  where  Mr.  Gra- 
root,  her  son-in-law,  lived. 

The  blind  daughter,  Catherine,  was  still  at  Springfield, 
Mo.,  with  relatives,  where  she  had  been  left  on  their  de- 
parture for  Texas. 

At  Humboldt  Mrs.  Bewley  had  much  affliction  with 
pneumonia,  and  was  near  dying.  Her  oldest  son,  William, 
was  sick  at  the  same  time  with  the  same  disease.  There 
they  remained  till  March,  1861,  when  they  removed  to 
Baldwin  City,  Kansas.  She  was  scarcely  able  to  get  into 
the  buggy  when  she  set  out  on  this  journey  with  her  five 
children. 

After  reaching  her  destination,  she  had  another  severe 
attack  of  pneumonia,  from  which  she  did  not  recover  till 
midsummer. 

When  the  family  arrived  in  Baldwin  City,  a  two-horse 
team  and  wagon,  with  a  little  bedding,  constituted  about  all 
their  possessions. 

The  proprietors  of  the  college  located  at  that  place  gave 
her  six  lots,  and  she  bought  another,  all  together  making 
about  an  acre  and  a  half. 

She  succeeded  in 'negotiating  for  a  small  house  of  two 
rooms,  which  was  moved  upon  her  lots  and  somewhat  en- 
larged and  improved,  and  again  she  rejoiced  in  a  home, 
humble  certainly,  but  secure,  and  situated  in  a  community 
where  civilization  was  cherished,  law  reverenced  and  obeyed, 
and  the  flag  of  the  country  honored,  and  where  she  could 
not  be  plundered  and  despoiled  with  impunity. 

She  received  also  some  contributions  of  money  from 
friends  and  persons  moved  by  her  misfortunes.  These 


180  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

donations  afforded  her  temporary  relief,  and  enabled  her  to 
visit  St.  Louis  with  her  blind  daughter,  where  Dr.  J.  "W. 
Birge  had  the  benevolence  to  treat  them  both  profession- 
ally without  any  charge  whatever. 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.      181 


CHAPTER   IX. 

OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY. 

1.  As  the  celebrated  forged  letter,  attributed  to  Wm.  H. 
Bailey,  and  purporting  to  be  addressed  to  Rev.  Wm.  Bewley, 
was  one  of  the  stratagems  to  lead  to  the  murder  of  Rev. 
A.  Bewley,  we  may  properly  place  it  before  our  readers. 
It  was  dated  Denton  Creek,  Texas,  July  3,  1860.  It  was 
copied  from  the  New  Orleans  Delta  by  the  Missouri  Re- 
publican of  October  2,  1860.  The  date  of  the  Delta  is  not 
given,  but  its  preface  to  the  letter  is  given  by  the  Repub- 
lican as  follows : 

"  THE  JOHN  BROWNITES  IN  TEXAS. — The  following  well- 
authenticated  and  clearly  proved  document  has  been  sent 
to  us  from  Texas,  by  a  gentleman  of  this  city,  who  assures 
us  that  there  can  not  be  a  particle  of  doubt  as  to  its  genu- 
ineness. It  is  a  startling  and  fiendish  document,  which  is 
quite  worthy  of  the  perusal  of  those  credulous,  easy-going 
citizens  who  have  no  anxieties  about  the  South — no  fear  of 
any  real  design  to  interfere  with  our  institutions  by  North- 
ern emissaries." 

The  Delta  then  states,  from  the  Fort  Smith  Herald,  that 
Rev.  W.  H.  Bailey  was  caught,  and  arrived  in  Fort  Smith 
on  Sunday  last,  in  the  overland  stage,  under  the  charge  of 
Mr.  Johnson,  an  officer  from  Texas;  that  Bailey  is  one 
of  the  disciples  of  the  John  Brown  school,  and  has  been 
engaged  in  burning,  stealing,  etc.,  in  a  sister  State ;  and 
that  a  reward  of  three  thousand  dollars  had  been  offered  for 
his  delivery  at  Fort  Worth. 


182  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

The  following  is  the  celebrated  letter,  concerning  which 
so  much  has  been  said: 

"  DENTON  CREEK,  July  3,  1860. 

"Dear  Sir, — A  painful  abscess  in  my  right  thumb  is  my 
apology  for  not  writing  to  you  from  Anderson.  Our  glo- 
rious cause  is  prospering  finely  as  far  south  as  Breuham. 
There  I  parted  with  brother  Wampler;  he  went  still  further 
south;  he  will  do  good  wherever  he  goes.  I  traveled  up 
through  the  frontier  counties — a  part  of  the  time  under  a 
fictitious  name.  I  found  many  friends  who  had  been  initia- 
ted, and  understood  the  mystic  red.  I  met  a  number*  of 
our  friends  near  Georgetown.  We  had  a  consultation,  and 
were  unanimously  of  the  opinion  that  we  should  be  cautious 
of  our  new  associates;  most  of  them  are  desperate  charac- 
ters, and  may  betray  us,  as  there  are  some  slaveholders 
among  them,  and  they  value  the  poor  negro  much  higher 
than  horses.  The  only  good  they  will  do  us  will  be  de- 
stroying towns,  mills,  etc.,  which  is  our  only  hope  in  Texas 
at  present.  If  we  can  break  Southern  merchants  and 
millers,  and  have  their  places  filled  by  honest  Republicans, 
Texas  will  be  all  easy  prey,  if  we  only  do  our  duty.  All 
wanted  for  the  time  being  is  control  of  trade.  Trade,  as- 
sisted by  preaching  and  teaching,  will  soon  control  public 
opinion.  Public  opinion  is  mighty,  and  will  prevail.  Lin- 
coln will  certainly  be  elected;  we  will  then  have  the  Indian 
nation,  cost  what  it  will.  Squatter  sovereignty  will  prevail 
there  as  it  has  in  Kansas.  That  accomplished,  we  have  at 
least  one  more  step  to  take,  but  one  more  struggle  to  make; 
that  is,  free  Texas.  We  will  then  have  a  connected  link 
from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf.  Slavery  will  then  be  sur- 
rounded, by  land  and  by  water,  and  will  soon  sting  itself 
to  death.  I  repeat,  Texas  we  must  have,  and  our  only 
chance  is  to  break  up  the  present  inhabitants,  in  whatever 
way  we  can,  and  it  must  be  done.  Some  of  us  will  most 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.   183 

assuredly  suffer  in  accomplishing  our  object,  but  our 
Heavenly  Father  will  reward  us  in  assisting  him  in  blotting 
out  the  greatest  curse  on  earth.  It  would  be  impossible 
for  us  to  do  an  act  that  is  as  blasphemous  in  the  sight  of 
God  as  holding  slaves.  We  must  have  frequent  consulta- 
tions with  our  colored  friends.  (Let  our  meetings  be  in  the 
night.)  Impress  upon  their  clouded  intellects  the  blessings 
of  freedom ;  induce  all  to  leave  you  can.  Our  arrange- 
ments for  their  accommodation  to  go  North  are  better  than 
they  have  been,  but  not  as  good  as  I  would  like. 

"We  need  more  agents,  both  local  and  traveling.  I  will 
send  out  traveling  agents  when  I  get  home.  We  must  ap- 
point a  local  agent  in  every  neighborhood  in  your  district. 
I  will  recommend  a  few  I  know  it  will  do  to  rely  upon; 
namely,  brothers  Leake,  Wood,  Evans,  Mr.  Daniel  Vicry, 
Cole,  Nugent,  Shaw,  White,  Gilford,  Ashley,  Drake,  Meeks, 
Shultz,  and  Newman.  Brother  Leake,  the  bearer  of  this, 
will  take  a  circuitous  route,  and  see  as  many  of  our  colored 
friends  as  he  can;  he  also  recommends  a  different  material 
to  be  used  about  town,  etc.  Our  friends  sent  a  very  infe- 
rior article — they  emit  too  much  smoke,  and  do  not  contain 
enough  camphene.  They  are  calculated  to  get  some  of  our 
friends  hurt.  I  will  send  a  supply  when  I  get  home. 

"I  will  have  to  reprove  you  and  your  co-workers  for  your 
negligence  in  sending  funds  for  our  agents.  But  few  have 
been  compensated  for  their  trouble.  Our  faithful  corre- 
spondent, brother  Webber,  has  received  but  a  trifle — not  so 
much  as  apprentice's  wages ;  neither  have  brothers  Willet, 
Mangum,  and  others.  You  must  call  upon  our  colored 
friends  for  more  money.  They  must  not  expect  us  to  do 
all ;  they  certainly  will  give  every  cent  if  they  knew  how 
soon  their  shackles  will  be  broken.  My  hand  is  very  pain- 
ful, and  I  close. 

"  Yours  truly,  W.  H.  BAILEY. 


184  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

"N.  B.  Brother  Leake  will  give  you  what  few  numbers  of 
the  Impending  Crisis  I  have;  also,  Mr.  Sumner's  speech, 
and  brother  Beecher's  letter,  etc.  Farewell." 

Such  is  the  clumsy  forgery  which  was  used  as  an  occa- 
sion to  murder  an  innocent  man,  whose  character,  from  his 
youth  up,  had  been  above  suspicion. 

The  Rev.  J.  R  Burk,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  M'Anally,  both 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  dated  Weston, 
Texas,  September  17,  1860,  says:  "Brother  J.  K  Bellamy 
furnished  me  with  the  inclosed  document — that  is,  Bailey's 
letter — which  he  has  read  in  manuscript,  and  we  wish  you 
to  publish  it  in  the  Advocate,  that  our  friends  in  Missouri 
may  see  how  abolitiondom  is  doing  here,  and  what  it  aims 
at  accomplishing.  The  letter  was  directed  to  Mr.  Bewley, 
a  Northern  Methodist  preacher,  who  has  since  fled  to  Kan- 
sas or  Missouri,  for  whose  arrest  five  hundred  dollars  re- 
ward was  offered.  I  think  there  is  no  fiction  in  the  letter, 
merely  to  run  Bewley  from  Texas,  as  a  few  days  before  it 
was  found,  this  town  of  Henderson  was  burned,  over  one 
hundred  miles  from  the  place  where  it  was  found ;  and  the 
man  in  that  letter,  as  the  Corresponding  Secretary  of  this 
State,  was  taken  at  Henderson,  acknowledged  himself  to  be 
acting  in  that  capacity,  and  was  hanged.  Many  others  have 
shared  the-  same  fate,  both  black  and  white,  and  others  will 
soon  go  the  same  way." 

Dr.  M'Anally,  in  publishing  the  above,  says :  "  Mr.  Bel- 
lamy and  Mr.  Burk  are  both  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  men 
good  and  true,  and  would  no  more  favor  a  wrong  than  any 
other  person." 

The  Fayetteville  Arkansian  stated  that  "  Mr.  Bewley 
confessed  that  he  wrote  the  famous  letter,  addressed  to  one 
Bailey,  which  was  picked  up  near  Denton  Creek,  Texas,  and 
published  generally  in  the  Southern  papers."  The  letter 
itself  declare's  that  W.  H.  Bailey  wrote  it.  Again,  it  said 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.      185 

his  conviction  resulted  from  the  letter's  identification  by 
witnesses  under  oath,  but  as  whose  is  no  where  stated. 
Any  of  Mr.  Bewley's  writing  would  have  satisfied  his  ene- 
mies he  did  not  write  it.  _  Such  a  man  as  Bailey  was  not 
known  to  exist,  and  it  could  not  be  identified  as  his.  Of 
the  accusers  of  Bewley  it  may  be  said,  as  was  said  of  the 
false  witnesses  who  accused  our  Savior:  "But  neither  so 
did  their  witnesses  agree  together."  Mark  xiv,  59. 

The  most  reasonable  construction  of  the  matter  is,  that 
the  writer  of  this  letter,  whether  Mr.  Bailey  or  some  one 
else,  addressed  it  to  Mr.  Bewley,  in  order  to  accuse  him 
falsely,  or  to  make  him  an  accomplice  in  a  nefarious  work. 

There  is  a  manifest  anachronism  and  lack  of  certainty  in 
the  matter.  The  letter  of  Bailey  is  dated  July  3d,  and  now, 
September  17th,  it  comes  to  light  by  Mr.  Burk.  In  short, 
the  letter  attributed  to  Mr.  Bailey  has  the  leading  marks 
of  a  forgery,  and  a  false  direction.  It  seems  to  have  been 
forged  by  some  pro-slavery  zealot,  in  order  to  drive  out  the 
ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  from  Texas. 
For,  at  this  very  time,  it  became  the  settled  policy  of  the 
pro-slavery  party,  with  which  the  periodicals  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  South,  without  exception,  and  their 
preachers  in  general  cooperated  to  persecute  the  ministry  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  drive  them  from  the 
slave  territory  of  the  South-West.  And  this  course  has 
been  avowed  by  the  leaders  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  South,  from  1848  down  to  the  present  time. 

2.  But  as  suitably  answering  the  famous  forgery,  we 
adduce  the  letter  of  Bishop  Morris  on  the  subject.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  find  a  man  of  more  moderation  and 
impartiality  than  the  Bishop.  We  therefore  give  his  letter, 
which  settles  the  question  with  every  unbiased  mind.  The 
Bishop,  under  date  of  November  7,  1860,  Springfield,  Ohio,- 
says :  "  Much  is  said  of  a  certain  letter,  written  by  Bailey, 

16 


186  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

which  was  found  six  miles  from  the  place  of  execution, 
directed  to  Rev.  Wm.  Buley.  I  have  read  it  in  print.  It 
details  the  plan  of  insurrection,  and  the  names  of  the  con- 
spirators, but  the  name  of  Anthony  Bewley  is  not  in  it,  on 
it,  or  about  it.  Mrs.  A.  Gr.  Fowler,  a  correspondent  of  the 
Galveston  News,  says,  October  8,  1860 :  '  None  of  the  pub- 
lished copies  of  this  letter  has  ever  contained  the  address 
upon  the  back,  which  is  thus:  "REV.  WM.  BULEY?'"  The 
same  writer  further  says:  'The  original  of  the  Bailey 
letter  is  still  in  the  hands  of  the  Vigilance  Committee  of 
this  place,'  [Fort  Worth.]  I  am  glad  it  is.  There  is 
some  difference  between  Buley  and  Bewley,  and  still  more 
between  William  and  Anthony.  Texas  logic  seems  to  be 
thus:  Any  man  to  whom  an  incendiary  letter  may  be  ad- 
dressed— whether  with  or  without  his  consent — deserves  to 
die ;  but  such  a  letter  was  addressed  Wm.  Buley  ;  there- 
fore Anthony  Bewley  deserved,  to  die!  Now,  if  A.  Bewley 
had  united  with  others  to  raise  an  insurrection,  his  asso- 
ciates in  crime  would  have  known  his  name,  and  so  directed 
the  letter  as  to  prevent  it  falling  into  other  hands.  Besides, 
how  easily  could  unprincipled  men,  such  as  thirsted  for  the 
blood  of  Bewley,  have  gotten  up  such  a  letter  on  purpose 
to  insnare  him  !  As  to  the  statement  that  Anthony  Bew- 
ley confessed,  under  the  gallows,  that  he  had  lost  the  Bailey 
letter,  directed  to  Wm.  Buley,  I  regard  it  as  one  of  the 
many  falsehoods  manufactured  by  his  persecutors  to  miti- 
gate their  own  crime.  All  executions  by  mobs  are  mur- 
ders ;  that  of  Bewley  was  willful,  deliberate  murder,  not 
claiming  even  the  excuse  of  haste,  from  the  heat  of  passion 
suddenly  excited.  After  he  had  left  the  State  to  avoid 
trouble  to  himself  or  others,  his  enemies  pursued  him  to 
Missouri  and  Arkansas,  brought  him  back  without  legal 
process,  and  hung  him.  Will  these  monsters  of  cruelty  be 
indicted?  Will  any  Criminal  Court  try  and  punish  them 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.      187 

for  murder  as  the  law  directs?  Perhaps  not.  But  they 
may  rely  on  a  future  reckoning,  when  '  every  one  of  us 
shall  give  an  account  of  himself  to  God.'  How  changed 
the  scene  from  Fort  Worth  to  the  general  judgment,  where 
the  murderers  of  this  innocent  man  shall  be  confronted  by 
him  and  his  injured  family,  under  the  withering  eye  of  a 
just  and  holy  God  !  The  case  of  Anthony  Bewley  will  then 
appear  infinitely  desirable  compared  with  that  of  his  mur- 
derers and  their  apologists.  To  that  tribunal  his  friends 
appeal  the  case  for  final  adjudication." 

Thus,  Bishop  Morris  establishes  Bewley's  innocence,  and 
exposes  the  gross  forgeries  and  false  accusations  invented 
against  him,  and  circulated  in  the  Texas  Christian  Advo- 
cate, the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate,  and  other  papers, 
laboring  in  the  interests  of  human  bondage. 

3.  We  may  now  consider  what  the  Southern  Methodist 
papers  say  of  this  murder. 

The  Southern  Christian  Advocate  of  November  29,  1860, 
censures  Bishop  Morris,  in  no  measured  terms,  in  conse- 
quence of  his  letter  directed  to  Rev.  Mr.  Brown.  The  editor 
says:  "Of  course,  Bishop  Morris  does  not  read  our  papers. 
He  certainly  is  a  good,  though  blinded  man,  and  honestly 
believes  what  he  says;  but  for  all  that,  he  is  retailing  a 
falsehood  at  second-hand,  which  he  has  accepted  as  truth 
from  some  abolition  editor."  Such  is  the  disparaging  lan- 
guage uttered  in  Charleston,  the  seat  of  the  Southern  con- 
spiracy against  liberty  and  human  rights. 

On  the  case  itself  the  editor  waxes  truly  warm.  He 
says :  "  As  to  the  last  case,  the  hanging  of  Bewley,  we  defy 
the  production  of  a  sentiment  from  a  Southern  Methodist 
paper,  that  either  indorses  or  winks  at  his  execution  by  a 
mob,  without  judicial  sentence — or  one  in  which  the  act  is 
not  condemned,  if  there  was  no  charge  but  that  which 
Bishop  Morris  alleges.1' 


188  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

After  this  declaration  he  proceeds  to  quote  what  he  wrote, 
when  this  case  first  canie  up,  in  answer  to  the  editor  of  the 
Advocate  and  Journal.  "  Some  of  his  [Bewley's]  brethren 
believe  it  lawful  to  help  slaves  to  run  away  from  their 
masters,  taking  whatever  is  necessary  to  help  them.  This 
we  call  abetting  theft.  This  man  may  have  thought  this 
right."  Thus  he  proceeds,  and  then  declares  as  follows: 
''  Then,  what  is  our  crime  ?  We  have  warned  the  Northern 
Church  that  our  fellow-citizens  would  not  allow  the  enemies 
of  our  institutions,  incendiaries  and  slave-stealers,  to  come 
into  our  midst  breeding  mischief;  that  such  criminals  would 
be  dealt  with  as  their  crimes  deserved;  and  when  we  coun- 
seled legal  proceedings  we  have  told  them  what  they  well 
knew  without  telling,  that  it  was  not  wonderful  if  an  exas- 
perated people  would  not  wait  on  law — we  have  counseled 
no  violence.  We  have  advised  obedience  to  law.  What 
more  could  we  have  done,  unless  it  were  to  applaud  incen- 
diaries, and  hail  them  as  martyrs  ?  Because  we  do  not  this 
we  are  classed  with  mobists  and  murderers,  by  the  Senior 
Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  North — the 
representative  of  more  than  a  million  of  our  fellow-country- 
men. How  we  Northern  and  Southern  Christians  are  likely 
to  love  one  another!" 

On  the  foregoing  we  remark :  1.  That  the  ministers, 
principles,  or  authorities  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
never  countenanced  nor  practiced  enticing  or  even  aiding 
slaves  to  leave  their  masters.  2.  That  neither  Mr.  Bewley 
nor  any  Methodist  preacher  of  our  Church  in  the  South- 
West,  whether  in  Missouri,  Arkansas,  or  Texas,  ever  took 
a  part  in  such  acts  as  the  editor  charges.  3.  The  evil  lies 
in  the  system  of  slavery,  which  is  one  of  theft,  robbery, 
injustice,  and-  wrong,  in  the  worst  forms  of  these  crimes  ; 
and  now,  when  reprisals  are  made  on  it  in  consequence  of 
its  gross  immorality,  although  it  has  the  sanction  of  law, 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.      189 

mobs  must  be  resorted  to  as  a  defense,  as  no  regular  legal 
proceedings  can  meet  the  case.  4.  The  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  has  a  clear  record  in  this  matter;  although 
antislavery,  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  term,  her  course  is 
according  to  law  and  the  ten  commandments.  5.  Our 
Southern  friends  have  sown  the  wind,  and  they  reap  the 
whirlwind.  6.  The  whole  United  States  have  been  partici- 
pants in  this,  and  they  are  now  visited,  in  the  providence 
of  God,  for  the  wrongs  done  to  the  slaves. 

4.  We  come  next  to  the  Texas  Christian  Advocate.  This 
paper,  in  its  issue  of  September  13,  1860,  has  over  a 
column  on  the  Bewley  catastrophe,  in  the  spirit  of  a  mob- 
ocrat,  or  one  of  the  old  inquisitors,  who  would,  according 
to  his  creed,  put  a  heretic  to  death  for  God's  sake.  This 
reminds  us  of  the  declaration  of  the  wealthy  Methodist, 
Harry  Hill,  of  Nashville,  Tennessee,  who,  in  1844,  wished 
to  have  the  opportunity  of  pulling  the  rope  to  hang  Dr. 
Bond,  sen.,  and  ourself.  The  Texan  editor  says :  "  We 
published  in  our  News  column  a  paragraph  of  four  lines, 
stating  that  a  Rev.  Mr.  Bewley,  of  the  Northern  Church, 
had  been  hung  at  Veal's  station,  after  having  been  con- 
demned by  a  jury  of  three  hundred  men.  .  .  .  There  are 
cases  in  which  Lynch-law  is  expedient,  necessary,  just. 
We  are  not  now  prepared  to  declare  that  Mr.  Bewley's  was 
one  of  these  cases,  nor  that  it  was  not.  He  fell  a  victim 
to  his  lawlessness,  which  he  and  others  of  his  kind  have, 
for  some  time,  been  laboring  to  inaugurate  and  promote  in 
Texas.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Timber  Creek  Confer- 
ence, and  was  calmly  warned  by  a  large  committee  of  South- 
ern men  that  antislavery  missionary  operations  among  us 
would  certainly  result  in  bloodshed,  and  that  if  he  persisted, 
he  would  be  regarded  as  an  aggressor,  and  treated  accord- 
ingly. When  that  Conference  was  asked,  categorically, 
whether  it  intended  to  continue  its  efforts  to  build  up  an 


190  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

aiitislavery  Church  organization  in  Texas,  it  managed  to 
get  off,  as  Bishop  Janes  afterward  boasted,  with  an  uncate- 
gorical  answer — a  Delphic  response."  He  next  states  the 
untruth,  "  That  preachers  of  the  Northern  Church  had 
been  detected  in  some  subterranean  efforts  to  further  the 
mission  of  slavery  extirpation  in  the  State."  He  adds : 
"  Timber  Creek  was  involved ;  and  Bewley  is  reported  to 
have  been  hung.  If  this  report  prove  true,  we  shall  regret 
that  he  did  not  take  the  good  advice  of  the  committee  in 
March,  1859,  and  leave  the  State."  He  concludes  by  giv- 
ing his  pro-slavery  creed  in  these  words :  "  We  argued  that 
the  South  could  not  abolish  slavery  if  she  would,  and  that 
therefore  the  introduction  of  an  antislavery  Church  must 
produce  evils  instead  of  progress ;  that  she  would  not  abol- 
ish slavery  if  she  could." 

We  remark,  that  the  verdict  of  this  Texan  jury  of  three 
hundred  men,  acting  as  a  mob,  would  make  a  singular  ex- 
ample to  be  incorporated  into  the  decided  cases  of  supreme 
courts,  and  to  be  reconciled  by  Blackstone,  Kent,  or  Story, 
in  their  arguments,  with  other  decided  cases  of  the  supreme 
courts  of  Britain  and  America. 

Indeed,  if  the  above  is  written  in  sobriety,  what  a  spec- 
tacle we  have !  Here  is  an  editor  of  a  Southern  religious 
journal,  representing  a  large  body  of  professed  Christians, 
bound  by  all  considerations  to  conform  to  law,  both  divine 
and  human.  He  looks  upon  a  heterogeneous  gathering  of 
three  hundred  ill-sorted,  ffantic,  and  blaspheming  men  with 
daggers,  bludgeons,  and  halters,  rushing  their  victim  to  the 
slaughter,  and  crying,  as  they  go,  u  Hang  him,  hang  him  !" 
and  fancies  this  bloodthirsty  pack  of  slave-hounds  a  jury 
of  his  fellow-countrymen  administering  justice  ! 

This  editor,  rising  from  his  evening  prayers,  in  the  so- 
lemnity of  his  sanctum,  and  going  forth,  lays  his  holy 
hands  upon  the  bloody  heads  of  this  shrieking  mob  on  the 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.      191 

field  of  its  deeds,  and  baptizes  it  a  "jury"  dignifies  it  with 
all  the  sanctity  of  the  ermine-clad  court,  and  turning,  re- 
cords his  holy  service  in  the  columns  of  his  own  journal ! 
Alas !  for  the  Texas  Christian  Advocate  and  the  Southern 
Methodist  Church,  if  this  is  the  civilization  and  Christianity 
they  inculcate  and  promote. 

But  if  the  editor  calls  this  mob  "  a  jury  of  three  hund- 
red men,"  in  sneering  irony,  then  is  his  offense  not  lessened, 
and  his  influence  is  equally  vicious,  and  promotive  of  law- 
lessness and  murder. 

He  apologizes  for  lewdness  by  calling  it  chastity,  praises 
vice  by  calling  it  virtue,  and  pleads  for  murder  by  making 
it  the  occasion  of  merriment  and  jocoseness,  and  by  cover- 
ing up  its  offensive  carnage  with  roses  of  rhetoric. 

5.  Another  source  of  information  respecting  this  case  is 
a  letter  from  Rev.  H.  W.  South,  dated  Waxahachie,  Texas, 
October  4,  1860,  and  published  in  the  Southern  Methodist 
Itinerant  of  October  31,  1860,  with  approbation.     He  says: 
"  The  letter  found  near  Fort  Worth  was  certainly  addressed 
to  Rev.  Mr.  Bewley.     It  is  further  said  here,  that  the  son- 
in-law  of  Mr.  Bewley,  Rev.  Mr.  Willet,  has  been  taken  in 
Missouri,  and  is  now  on  his  way  back  to  Fort  Worth,  where 
he  will  hang  on  the  same  limb.     The  information  in  refer- 
ence to  Mr.  Bewley  is  true.     I   regret  that  the  thing  has 
got  into  confusion." 

In  commenting  on  the  letter  of  Mr.  South,  the  editor  of 
the  Texas  Christian  Advocate  of  October  31,  1860,  says: 
"  The  most  charitable  construction  we  can  put  upon  Bishop 
Ames's  conduct  in  the  matter  is  that  he  acted  under  author- 
ity from  his  Church,  which  has  constantly  avowed,  through 
its  organs,  its  intention  to  force  an  antislarery  Church  or- 
ganization into  Texas.  The  Brownism  of  Bewley's  spirit, 
as  herein  manifested,  is  too  evident  to  be  mistaken." 

6.  Dr.  Hamilton,  a  distinguished  member  of  the  Alabama 


192  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Conference,  is  introduced  into  the  Texas  Christian  Advocate 
of  October  11,  1860,  as  follows : 

"  But  all  danger  is  not  passed,"  says  Dr.  Hamilton ; 
"  what  was  aimed  at  by  the  real  authors  of  the  late  plots 
will  be  attempted  again,  and  perhaps  again,  and  in  widely 
different  ways.  All  that  Tbas  transpired  was  but  the  partial 
development  of  a  purpose  formed  years  since  by  men  far 
removed  from  the  scene  of  action^  and  still  entertained  by 
those  widely  separated  through  the  country,  and  from  which 
they  will  not  desist  so  long  as  there  is  the  least  prospect 
of  success.  That  purpose  is  simply  this,  to  prevent  the 
admission  of  any  more  slave  States  into  the  Union ;  to  ac- 
complish this  the  plan  is  to  make  a  large  portion  of  Texas 
free  territory.  Of  this  purpose  I  have  been  fully  convinced 
for  years ;  I  was  made  aware  of  its  existence  by  various 
facts  that  came  to  my  knowledge — by  hints  and  inuendoes 
thrown  out  by  Northern  wire-workers  from  time  to  time. 
If  any  man  supposes  that  what  has  been  already  done  will 
put  an  end  to  their  attempts,  he  knows  less  of  Yankee 
character  and  abolition  hate  and  malignity  than  I  do.  I 
prophesy  that  Northern  and  North-Western  Texas  will  be 
the  battle-ground  between  slavery  and  abolitionism,  for  the 
next  twenty  years." 

7.  It  was  not  the  press  of  the  Southern  Methodists  alone 
that  gave  countenance  and  aid  to  the  persecution  and  mur- 
der of  Bewley.  We  find  the  same  manifested  in  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  Church  in  Missouri  and  the  South- 
West.  This  we  gather  from  the  St.  Louis  Observer,  edited 
at  that  time  by  Mr.  Cox,  a  truly  loyal  and  good  man,  with 
whom  we  were  well  acquainted  for  many  years.  Mr.  Cox 
had  said  that  Mr.  Bewley  was  "  a  man  and  a  minister  above 
suspicion."  One  of  his  correspondents  from  South-West 
Missouri,  November  8,  1860,  thus  calls  Mr.  Cox  to  account : 

"  You  say  in  the  Observer,  that  the  said  Rev.  A.  Bewley 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.      193 
\ 

is  '  a  man  and  a  minister  above  suspicion,  etc.  Now  surely 
in  this  you  speak  unadvisedly,  and  I  say  this  is  the  first 
time  I  ever  heard  him  indorsed.  His  antecedents  from 
Tennessee  to  Texas  were  those  of  an  intermeddler  and  dis- 
turber of  the  peace ;  and  I  am  credibly  informed  by  one 
of  our  ministers  that  his  father-in-law  offered  him  one 
thousand  dollars  if  he  would  go  to  a  free  State  and  remain  ; 
and,  finally,  that  they  made  South-West  Missouri  too  hot 
for  him  to  remain  there ;  so  he  came  to  Texas,  where  he 
has  long  been  known  as  a  most  hateful  intermeddler,  and 
more  than  once  has  been  ordered  to  leave  camp-grounds." 

To  the  foregoing  the  editor  of  the  Observer  replies,  "  We 
did  not  '  speak  unadvisedly ;'  but  it  now  appears  that  we 
were  misinformed.  Brethren  who  knew  the  said  Rev.  A. 
Bewley  for  years,  concur  in  saying  to  us  that  he  was  a 
busy  intermeddler  and  a  dangerous  man  •  to  the  community 
in  which  he  lived." 

Another  correspondent  of  the  Observer  of  October  20, 
1860,  from  South- West  Missouri,  says:  "Mr.  Bewley  re- 
sided in  this  neighborhood  for  quite  a  number  of  years, 
and  was  known  by  friends  and  foes  to  be  a  decided  aboli- 
tionist. It  may  be  that  he  was  wickedly  and  cruelly  mur- 
dered; but  as  to  his  being  above  suspicion,  it  surely  is  not 
among  his  own  neighbors.  And  the  number  here  who 
believed  him  to  be  a  good  man  is  very  few."  This  is 
quoted,  with  approbation,  by  the  Texas  Christian  Advocate 
of  November  8,  1860. 

The  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  in  the  slave  States,  are 
generally  pro-slavery,  and,  in  the  free  States,  are  strong 
sympathizers,  in  general,  with  pro-slavery  -men.  Of  course, 
they  condemned  Bewley,  just  as  they  would  any  minister  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  for  being  antislavery. 
And  the  name  abolitionist  would  be  as  freely  bestowed  on 
any  of  our  ministers  as  upon  Garrison,  or  any  other. 

17 


194  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Hence  the  influence  of  his  pro-slavery  associates  on  Mr. 
Cox,  then  editor  of  the  Observer,  who  is  both  loyal  to  the 
country  and  truly  antislavery.  And  indeed  Mr.  Cox,  like 
Mr.  Bewley,  but  in  another  way,  has  suffered  for  his  loyalty 
and  his  antislavery  principles,  for  his  people  in  general  for- 
sook his  paper  because  he  was  antislavery,  and  have  pat- 
ronized a  neutral  paper,  printed  in  Alton,  Illinois.  And 
we  can  not  locate  or  classify  these  neutral  papers  and  per- 
sons, except  by  ranking  them  with  the  enemies  of  the 
country.  "He  that  is  not  for  me  is  against  me." 

-The  denunciations  of  Mr.  Bewley  by  the  Cumberlands  of 
the  South-West  we  place  among  the  well-deserved  eulogies 
which  he  has  received  from  those  who  knew  him  best,  and 
were  well  qualified  to  represent  his  character,  such  as  Bishop 
Morris,  Dr.  Cartwright,  Mark  Robertson,  and  a  host  of  others. 

8.  The  preachers'  meeting  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  Pittsburg,  consisting  of  twelve  members,  passed 
unanimously  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions,  which 
were  published  in  the  Pittsburg  Christian  Advocate  of 
November  20,  1860,  and  in  the  city  dailies: 

"  Whereas,  the  fate  of  Rev.  A.  Bewley  is  regarded  no 
longer  as  in  a  state  of  uncertainty,  but  it  is  now  ascertained 
that  he  was  actually  hung  at  Fort  Worth,  on  the  13th  of 
September,  1860;  therefore,  resolved: 

"1.  That  we  regard  the  death  of  Mr.  Bewley  as  the 
murder  of  an  innocent  man. 

"2.  That  we  sympathize  with  the  bereaved  family,  and, 
regarding  their  claims  on  our  denomination  as  strong,  re- 
quest the  authorities  of  the  Church  to  make  known  their 
condition,  and  we  will  bear  our  part  in  the  support  of  the 
widow,  and  education  and  comfort  of  the  orphans. 

"3.  That  we  regard  the  action  of  mob-law,  under  any 
circumstances,  as  wrong,  and  worthy  of  denunciation  by 
Christian  ministers. 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.      195 

"  4.  That,  we  regard  the  course  of  Bishop  Pierce  and  the 
papers  of  Southern  Methodism,  in  attempting  to  vindicate 
the  action  of  the1  mob  iu  the  case  of  Mr.  Bewley,  as  alto- 
gether unworthy  of  Christian  men. 

"5.  That  these  resolutions  be  published  in  the  Pitts- 
ourg  Christian 'Advocate  and  the  city  papers." 

On  the  foregoing  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate  of 
November  29,  1860,  comments  as  follows:  "The  names 
appended  to  the  resolutions  are  the  names  of  Methodist 
preachers  in  that  city.  It  is  really  singular,  that  men 
occupying  the  position  they  do,  should  make  such  thrusts 
as  contained  in  the  fourth  resolution  above,  when  there  is 
no  ground  for  or  justice  in  them.  When,  where,  to  whom, 
in  what  way  did  Bishop  Pierce  attempt,  In  any  way  what- 
ever, to  vindicate  the  action  in  the  case  of  the  unfortunate 
man,  Bewley?  When,  or  in  what  way,  was  it  vindicated  by 
the  papers  of  Southern  Methodism  ?  Did  these  men,  these 
Christian  ministers  know  what  they  were  talking  about? 
Were  they  in  possession  of  the  facts  in  the  case?  If  so, 
how  shall  we  excuse  them  for  attempting  to  make  the  im- 
pression the  above  resolution  evidently  does?  Alas!  we 
have  indeed  fallen  upon  evil  times.  Law  and  order  are 
disregarded  by  some,  and  truth  and  justice  equally  disre- 
garded by  others." 

The  foregoing  is  strange  language  indeed,  when  we  con- 
sider the  letter  of  Bishop  Pierce,  the  usual  style  of  the 
Southern  papers,  the  proceedings  of  the  mob  of  March, 
1859,  that  assaulted  and  mobbed  the  Arkansas  Conference, 
the  resolutions  passed,  February  4,  1854,  by  the  meeting 
of  Timber  Creek  township,  and  tne  general  temper  of  slave- 
holders, as  manifested  by  the  press  and  in  speeches.  The 
quotations  already  given  in  these  pages  show  very  plainly 
that  the  resolutions  of  the  Pittsburg  preachers  are  fully 
sustained,  and  they  fully  and  explicitly  answer  the  very 


196  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

innocent  interrogatories  and  statements  of  the  St.  Louis 
Christian  Advocate.  Read  an  extract  from  Bishop  Pierce's 
letter,  and  then  judge  whether  the  Pittsburg  preachers 
'have  stepped  beyond  the  bounds  of  Christian  charity. 

Bishop  Pierce  proposes  to  qualify  his  strong  denounce- 
ment of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  by  the  following 
effort  to  palliate  the  severity  'of  his  anathema.  And  yet  it 
only  aggravates  the  maranathas  of  the  original  curses.  He 


u  Understand  me,  I  speak  of  the  out  and  out  abolitionists. 
There  are  sound,  good  men  in  the  Northern  Church,  preach- 
ers and  people,  but  they  are  in  bad  company,  in  the  midst 
of  evil  advisers,  maintaining  unscriptural  opinions,  and  must 
share  the  opprobrium  of  their  association.  Sorry  for  it,  but 
we  can  not  help  it.  Let  them  come  out  and  stand  with  us 
upon  the  Bible,  and  Methodism,  purged  and  clean,  may  once 
more  be  a  unit,  a  grand  unity,  filling  the  whole  country." 

9.  When  the  intelligence  of  the  murder  of  Bewley 
reached  us,  and  the  letter  of  Bishop  Pierce,  with  scores  of 
such  declarations  teeming  from  the  Southern  press,  we  asked 
the  question,  in  a  heading  to  a  short  article  in  the  Central 
Christian  Advocate,  in  regard  to  Bishop  Pierce:  "WAS  HE 
BEWLEY'S  HANGMAN?"  The  Southern  Christian  Advocate 
of  November  28,  1860,  takes  fire,  assumes  this  heading,  and 
says:  "The  question  is  asked  by  the  notorious  Rev.  Charles 
Elliott,  D.  D.,  an  abolition  editor  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  North,  known  personally,  or  by  character,  to 
very  many  of  OUT^  readers,  was  'he' — who?  George  F. 
Pierce,  one  of  the  Bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  South,  known  and  loved  by  thousands,  as  one  of 
the  most  amiable  of  men,  and  as  one  of  the  most  devoted, 
laborious,  spiritual,  and  self-sacrificing  preachers  of  Christ 
on  this  continent? — Charles  Elliott  wishes  to  know  if 
George  F.  Pierce  was  the  hangman  of  Anthony  Bewley!" 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.     197 

Our  castigator  goes  on  to  quote  the  declaration  in  Bishop 
Pierce's  letter,  denouncing  all  Methodists  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  who  believed  in  their  Discipline,  that 
calls  on  the  Church  to  use  Scriptural  and  lawful  means 
to  extirpate  slavery.  And  to  palliate  the  matter  he  quotes 
the  intended  exception  of  his  pious  Bishop,  which  amounts 
to  no  exception,  as  the  curse  of  Bishop  Pierce  rests  on  all 
true  Methodists,  who  are  such,  as  he  himself  once  was  in 
profession,  to  our  knowledge,  while  he  was  a  preacher  in 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

We  now — January  21,  1863 — recite  and  renew  what  we 
then  said.  "With  the  spirit  and  principles  exhibited  in 
this  extract — from  Bishop  Pierce's  letter — we  were  led  to 
ask,  did  Bishop  Pierce  act  the  hangman  for  the  mob  when 
they  hanged  the  martyr?  Or  did  this  sanctimonious 
Southern  Methodist  Bishop  serve  as  chaplain  for  the  mur- 
derers who  assassinated  the  innocent  man?  Such  inquiries 
are  forced  on  us  by  the  murderous  teachings  and  assassin- 
like  declarations  of  the  Bishop.  Alas !  what  will  Southern 
Methodism  come  to  under  such  evil  teachings  as  these? 
The  heart  sickens  at  the  sight.  And  their  vast  resources 
of  men  and  means  are  now  put  forth  to  propagate  this  form 
of  Methodism  in  free  Kansas,  California,  and  Oregon,  and 
over  Missouri,  Arkansas,  and  Texas.  We  see  in  this  the 
verification  of  the  aphorism,  '  Evil  communications  corrupt 
good  morals.'  We  now  cease  to  marvel  on  reading  of  the 
persecutions  of  Christians  by  Christians.  Yet  the  time  is 
come — a  day  we  never  expected  to  see — when  a  Methodist 
Bishop  cries  out  with  the  mob,  it  is  right  to  hang  the  man 
because  he  is  not  in  favor  of  enslaving  his  fellow-man." 

And  now,  after  the  lapse  of  more  than  four  years  since 
the  paragraph  was  written,  we  are  compelled  to  conclude 
that  our  protest  against  the  course  of  Bishop  Pierce  is  no 
exaggeration  of  the  matter.  The  Southern  Christian  Advo- 


198  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

cate  was  in  a  manifest  rage  at  what  we  then  said,  and  we 
grieve  that  the  events  of  the  last  few  years  give  us  no  room 
to  modify  the  first  declarations  on  this  unhappy  affair. 

10.  The  Cumberland  Presbyterians  in  Missouri,  who  were 
mostly  secessionists,  gave  a  very  bad  character  of  Mr.  Bew- 
ley,  as  a  desperado  and  an  outlaw.  The  Evening  News  of 
September  27, 1860,  misled  by  pro-slavery  misrepresentation, 
had  the  following  in  reference  to  him:  "He  is  somewhat 
notorious  in  the  Southern  part  of  Missouri,  where  he  has 
been  regarded  as  an  outlaw  and  desperado."  Under  date 
of  October  6th,  Mr.  E.  G.  Evans  made  a  very  pertinent  reply 
to  the  News,  the  substance  of  which  is  as  follows:  Senator 
Evans  states  that  he  was  born  in  South  Missouri,  and  has 
lived  there  ever  since,  and  that  no*ian  could  be  found  who 
could  sustain  such  charges  against  Mr.  Bewley.  For  he 
was  early  a  preacher  in  Missouri,  and  all  went  on  well  till 
1845,  when  a  Church  "South""  was  organized.  Mr.  Bewley 
refused  to  unite  with  it,  and  retained  his  early  principles 
and  Church  relation.  Among  the  first  persecutions  of  the 
Church  South  may  be  mentioned  their  refusal  to  allow 
Mr.  Bewley's  children  to  attend  the  Southern  Methodist 
school  at  Ebenezer,  South  Missouri.  Although  unceasingly 
persecuted,  he  was  too  brave  to  leave  the  South-West.  He 
was  sent  as  a  missionary  to  the  benighted  inhabitants  of 
Texas,  where  he  fell  into  the  hands  of  ruffians  who  once 
figured  in  Kansas,  but  were  driven  to  Texas  for  their  ruf- 
fianism. A  Texas  preacher,  who  is  also  lately  from  Mis- 
souri, sends  back  to  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate  for 
publication  a  letter  purporting  to  be  a  copy  of  one  written 
to  Mr.  Bewley — signed  W.  H.  Bailey.  This  letter  was 
extensively  circulated,  in  order  to  convict  Rev.  Anthony 
Bewley,  when  any  sensible  person  can  see  that  it  is  a  forg- 
ery gotten  up  by  some  one  who  was  seeking  the  blood  of 
Bewley.  Why  did  they  not  forge  a  letter,  and  sign 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  MURDER  OF  BEWLEY.      199 

Anthony  Bewley's  name  to  it?  Just  because  so  much  of  his 
handwriting  is  in  reach,  that  they  could  not  successfully 
counterfeit  it,  while  no  one  knows  such  a  man  as  W.  H. 
Bailey.  So  far  Hon.  Mr.  Evans,  who  is  as  reliable  as  any 
other  man. 


200  SOUTH-WESTERN   METHODISM. 


CHAPTER   X. 

ANTECEDENTS  TO  1861. 

1.  THE  pro-slavery  meu  of  the  South  became  so  incensed 
at  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  on  account  of  her  anti- 
slavery  principles,  that  they  took  occasion  from  every  inci- 
dent to  denounce  our  Church.  Our  Kentucky  Conference 
was  denounced  in  the  most  pointed  manner.  Mr.  A.  J. 
Morey,  editor  of  the  Cynthiana  News,  in  Harrison  county, 
Ky.,  uses  the  following  language,  in  speaking  of  his  corre- 
spondent "Kentucky:" 

"  It  should  attract  the  attention  of  every  Southern  man, 
and  the  people  of  Germantown  and  surrounding  country 
especially.  Will  they  permit  a  band  of  incendiaries  to 
hold  a  convocation  in  their  midst,  for  the  purpose  of  per- 
fecting their  plans  of  abolitionism?  We  would  as  soon 
believe  that  the  people  of  Germantown  would  permit  a  con- 
vention of  horse-thieves  to  be  held  there,  as  allow  men 
entertaining  such  unconstitutional  and  traitocous  principles, 
as  those  who  belong  to  the  Conference  spoken  of  in  the 
communication.  The  people  in  that  section  have  driven 
others  out,  and  we  hope  they  will  give  a  cold  reception  to 
this  Northern  Conference,  which  is  headed  by  Bishop 
Simpson." 

The  correspondent  "Kentucky"  writes  thus  in  the  same 
paper*. 

"  ABOLITIONISM  *  IN  KENTUCKY. — I  was  pleased  with 
your  remarks  on  expelling  persons  of  abolition  opinions  and 
aims  from  our  State,  as  you  gave  them  in  your  last  issue, 


ANTECEDENTS  TO  1861.  201 

and  suffer  me  to  add,  that  an  editor  who  will  advocate  and 
defend  the  interests  of  his  fellow-citizens  ought  to  be  sus- 
tained. The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  NORTH  has  an 
Annual  Conference  in  this  State,  with  24  traveling  preachers 
from  Ohio,  and  31  local  preachers,  and  2,496  laymen  scat- 
tered along  the  Ohio  River,  and  from  one  end  of  the  State 
to  the  other;  and  are  moving  the  border  back  in  this 
direction,  and  declaring  in  their  papers  that  this  will  erelong 
be  a  free  State.  This  abolition  Conference  is  to  meet  on 
the  9th  of  next  month,  at  Germantown,  Ky.,  and  Bishop 
Simpson  to  preside.  These  men  in  1850  urged  the  negroes 
to  "organize  with  the  whites"  who  would  do  so,  and  resist 
the  laws  of  Congress  to  the  utmost  ability  God  had  given 
them.  And  they  did  so  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  will  do  so 
again  when  the  opportunity  will  serve. 

"  Kentucky  is  now  exposed,  and  these  twenty-four 
agents,  with  Bishop  Simpson  at  their  head,  aided  by  their 
friends  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  can  run  out  all  the 
slaves  in  the  State  in  a  few  years.  I  say,  we  should  desist 
in  driving  out  such  small  fries  as  Fee  and  Co.,  while  we 
can  manage  one  of  the  most  powerful  abolition  associations 
in  the  world  in  our  midst!  I  have  no  hope  for  the  union 
of  these  States,  while  the  Methodist  Church  in  the  North 
can  supply  the  slave  States  with  their  abolition  preachers. 
In  his  late  visit  to  England,  Bishop  Simpson  made  a  flaming 
speech,  and  expressed  himself  with  bitterness  against  the 
South."1 

On  the  whole  the  people  of  their  State  did  not  see  fit  to 
take  part  with  the  incendiary  editor,  Mr.  Morey,  and  his 
furious  correspondent  "Kentucky." 

2.  Mr.  Bledsoe  wrote  a  work  on  "Liberty  and  Slavery," 
maintaining  the  new  Southern  pro-slavery  doctrine.  We 
were  acquainted  with  this  gentleman  in  Cincinnati,  for  he  was 

1  Western  Christian  Advocate  of  1860,  p.  34,  col.  2. 


202  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

a  Northern  man,  and  professedly  antislavery  .at  that  time. 
After  he  went  to  the  South  and  joined  the  Southern  Me- 
thodist Church — so  we  think — he  became  fully  Southern. 
In  his  work  on  behalf  of  slavery,  he  undertakes  to  criticise 
our  work  against  it.  Dr.  Bledsoe  says,  speaking  of  the 
passage,  "Be  ye  not  the  servants  of  men:" 

"Be  the  meaning  of  this  passage  what  it  may,  it  is  not 
an  exhortation  to  slaves  to  burst  their  bands  in  sunder. 
Yet,  in  direct  opposition  to  the  plain  words  of  the  apostle, 
he  is  made  to  teach  that  slaves  should  throw  off  the  au- 
thority of  their  masters.  Lest  such  a  thing  should  be 
deemed .  impossible,  we  quote  the  words  of  the  author  by 
whom  this  outrage  has  been  perpetrated."  He  then  quotes 
us  as  follows :  "  The  command  of  the  twenty-third  verse, 
*  Be  ye  not  the  servants  of  men,'  is  equally  plain ;  there 
are  no  such  commands  uttered  in  regard  to  the  relations  of 
husband  and  wife,  parent  and  child,  as  are  here  given  in 
regard  to  slavery.  No  one  is  thus  urged  to  dissolve  the 
marriage  relation.  No  such  commands  are  given  to  relieve 
children  from  obedience  to  their  parents."2 

Mr.  Bledsoe  greatly  misrepresented  us,  as  is  plain  from 
the  following  in  our  book  (vol.  1,  p.  295):  "It  is  the  duty 
of  the  slave  to  aim  at  freedom.  '  Art  thou  called  being  a 
servant,  care  not  for  it,  but  if  thou  mayest  be  free,  use  it 
rather.'  Here  it  is  declared  that  freedom  is  preferable  to 
slavery,  and  yet,  that  the  deliverance  of  the  soul  from  sin 
is  of  greater  importance  than  civil  freedom.  Yet  the  com- 
mand is  clear:  if  thou  mayest,  or  rather,  if  thou  CANST,  if 
thou  ART  ABLE  to  become  free — that  if  it  was  IN  THE 
POWER  of  the  slave  to  become  free,  he  was  to  avail  himself 
of  the  privilege.  If  the  laws,  or  if  his  master  set  him  free, 
if  he  could  purchase  his  freedom,  if  some  one  would  pur- 
chase his  freedom  for  him,  if  in  any  way  not  sinful  he 

a  Elliott  on  Slavery,  vol.  1,  p.  295. 


ANTECEDENTS  TO  1861.  203 

could  become  free,  he  was  to  avail  himself  of  the  ad- 
vantage." 

Such  was  our  position,  for  no  slave  could  be  free  by 
fleeing  from  his  master.  As  the  Roman  law  then  governed 
the  world,  seeing  the  scepter  departed  from  Judah,  there 
was  not  found  a  free  country  on  earth  to  which  the  run- 
away could  flee,  and  therefore  he  might  be  recovered  and 
his  state  of  slavery  continued.  But  the  apostle  must  mean 
that  the  slave  should  endeavor  to  obtain  such  freedom  as 
could  not  be  wrested  from  him. 

Mr.  Bledsoe,  having  learned  his  Southern  lessons  in  favor 
of  practical  theft,  robbery,  and  man-stealing,  expresses 
himself  thus:  "If  such  violence  to  Scripture  had  been 
done  by  an  obscure  scribbler,  or  by  an  infidel  quoting  the 
Word  of  God  merely  for  a  purpose,  it  would  not  have  been 
matter  of  such  profound  astonishment.  But  is  it  not  un- 
speakingly  shocking  that  a  Christian  man — nay,  that  a 
Christian  minister  and  doctor  of  divinity  should  thus  set 
at  naught  the  clearest,  the  most  unequivocal,  and  the  most 
universally  received  teachings  of  the  Gospel?  If  he  had 
merely  accused  the  Christian  men  of  the  South,  as  he  has 
so  often  done  in  his  two  stupid  volumes  on  slavery,  of  the 
crimes  of  swindling,  of  theft,  of  robbery,  and  of  man-steal- 
ing, we  could  have  borne  with  him  well,  and,  as  we  have 
hitherto  done,  continue  to  pass  by  his  -labors  with  silent 
contempt.  But  we  have  deemed  it  important  to  show  in 
what  manner  and  to  what  extent  the  spirit  of  abolition 
can  wrest  the  pure  Word  of  God  to  its  antichristian  pur- 
pose." 

As  to  the  actual  theft,  swindling,  and  robbery,  these 
crimes  are  common  to  some  of  the  stages  of  slavery.  But 
as  to  man-stealing,  according  to  St.  Paul,  that  crime  con- 
tinues to  be  committed  in  all  the  stages  of  the  system, 
till  its  extinction,  although  man-stealing,  that  is,  buying, 


204  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

selling,  or  dealing  in  slaves,  is  of  the  same  criminality  with 
parricide  and  matricide.     See  1  Tim.  i,  10.3 

We  barely  referred  to  Mr.  Bledsoe  to  show  how  fur  the 
South  had  deviated  from  the  principles  of  the  Revolution, 
of  the  Bible,  and  of  Methodism. 

3.  The  action  of  the  Baltimore  Conference  in  March  of 
this  year  shows  how  far  they  had  departed  from  the  prin- 
ciples of  their  fathers,  the  Scriptures,  and  the  Methodist 
Discipline.  This  action  also  shows  how  far  they  had 
advanced  toward  the  pro-slavery  sentiments  and  spirit  of 
the  Southern  Methodists.  They  deprecate  the  discussion 
of  the  slavery  question  in  Church  or  State,  especially  in 
our  periodicals,  and  with  these  they  pass  the  following 
resolutions : 

"  That  the  Conference  disclaims  having  the  least  sym- 
pathy with  abolitionism.  On  the  contrary,  we  are  determ- 
ined not  to  hold  connection  with  any*  ecclesiastical  body 
that  makes  non-slaveholding  a  condition  of  membership  in 
the  Church,  and  that  we  are  opposed  to  any  inquisition 
upon  the  motives  underlying  the  relations  of  master  and 
slave. 

"That  no  action  of  the  General  Conference  can  influence 
us  to  violate  our  principles  and  practices,  as  indicated  in 
the  foregoing  declarations;  but  that  we  will  stand  by  the 
rights  and  interests  of  our  people  to  the  last  extremity. 

"That  our  mission,  as  ministers  of  the  New  Testament, 
is  to  preach  the  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  both  to  master 
and  slave,  and  to  devote  ourselves  to  our  appropriate  work 
of  winning  souls  to  Christ." 

We  can  readily  conceive  of  the  supreme  inconsistency  of 
allowing  no  slaveholders  to  be  in  the  Church,  when  so 
many,  by  the  despotism  of  the  system,  are  made  slave- 
holders by  law,  without  their  knowledge,  will,  or  act.  This 

8  Western  Christian  Advocate  of  I860,  p.  53. 


ANTECEDENTS  TO  1861.  205 

is  a  plain  case,  and  can  not  be  called  in  question.  But  not 
to  call  these  afterward  to  account,  for  making  this  act  of 
the  law  their  own  act,  by  consent,  will,  or  deed,  is  quite 
another  matter.  And,  that  no  inquisition  upon  the  motives 
of  slaveholders  should  be  made,  is  unscriptural,  unmethod- 
istic,  and  contrary  to  the  usage  of  our  fathers  in  the  Balti- 
more Conference.4 

Dr.  Bond,  jr.,  in  the  Baltimore  Advocate  of  April  14th, 
considers  the  subject  acted  on  by  the  Conference,  and  says 
their  action  was  received  with  intense  and  almost  universal 
satisfaction.  He  also  states  that  emancipation  in  the  Brit- 
ish settlements  resulted  very  unfavorably ;  in  Hayti,  disas- 
trously. He  might  as  well  have  said  that  the  deliverance 
of  the  Israelites  from  Egypt  was  a  failure,  or  that  the  ele- 
vation of  the  Saxons  from  low  serfdom  to  civilization  was 
a  crime. 

He  makes  one  unwilling  concession,  however,  which 
amounts  to  a  confession.  In  this  article  he  says :  "  There 
was  a  time  when  the  religious  feeling  of  the  South  inclined 
masters  to  emancipate,  and  preachers  to  advise  emancipa- 
tion. Under  that  influence,  hundreds  of  thousands  were 
made  free.  Some  did  well ;  but  the  greater  number  were 
not  benefited  by  the  change."5  In  1780  the  Baltimore 
Conference  pronounced  slavery  to  be  contrary  to  the  laws 
of  God  and  nature.  In  1784  a  similar  decision  was  made, 
and  onward  the  moral  evil  of  the  system  has  been  recog- 
nized and  reasserted  in  the  Discipline  up  to  this  day,  and 
such  was  the  case  of  the  Baltimoreans  up  to  1844,  when 
they  were  the  principal  prosecutors  of  Bishop  Andrew,  be- 
cause he  refused  to  emancipate  or  allow  his  wife  to  do  so. 

In  1844  we  heard  the  following  declarations  from  the 
mouths  of  Southern  Methodist  preachers  in  New  York,  on 

*  Western  Christian  Advocate  of  I860,  p.  40. 
6  Western  Christian  Advocate,  p.  66,  col.  1. 


206  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

the  floor  of  the  General  Conference,  and  those  utterances 
are  on  record  as  noted  below  in  the  Journals  of  that  body. 

Rev.  Samuel  Dunwoody,  of  South  Carolina,  said:"  "The 
Southern  men  are  generally  charged  with  being  pro-slavery 
men — it  is  not  so.  They  are  opposed  to  the  principle,  and 
wilt  be  as  long  as  they  live.  I  believe  slavery  to  be  a 
great  moral  evil."6 

Dr.  Wm.  A.  Smith,  in  the  same  General  Conference,  said  : 
"  We  of  the  South  take  both  sides  of  the  question ;  it  is  a 
great  evil ;  it  is  n.ot  necessarily  a  sin.  Now,  on  this  broad 
platform  the  Southern  Church  stands.  We  must  quietly 
submit  to  a  necessity."7 

Dr.  Smith  also  says :  "  In  1831,  so  rife  was  the  popular 
feeling  and  the  popular  sentiment  on  this  subject  that  there 
is  no  doubt,  so  sorely  did  we  in  Virginia  feel  this  evil,  that 
long  before  this  day  some  act  of  gradual  emancipation  would 
have  passed  but  for  the  interference  of  the  Northern  abo- 
litionists. We  felt  the  evils,  and  groaned  under  them,  that, 
from  the  debates  in  1831,  in  the  Virginia  Legislature  and 
the  popular  sentiment  expressed  in  the  pulpit  and  through 
the  press,  no  doubts  were  expressed  that  the  State  was 
about  to  adopt  immediate  measures  for  its  gradual  emanci- 
pation."8 

4.  The  Southern  clergy  seem  to  have  been  carried  away 
with  the  political  sentiments  of  the  Scfuth.  The  Methodists 
at  this  time  had  gradually  given  up  their  antislavery  teach- 
ings ;  in  1854  they  perverted  the  general  rule  that  prohib- 
ited all  purchases  and  sales  of  slaves  except  to  free  them, 
to  refer  to  the  African  slave-trade,  and  therefore  allowed  it 
no  reference  to  the  worse  than  African  trade  that  existed 
in  the  United  States. 

The   South   Carolina   Christian  Advocate,   of  August  2, 

e  Debates,  General  Conference,  1844,  pp.  184,  186. 

7  Idem,  p.  30. 

8  Idem,  p.  27.    See  Ceutral  Christian  Advocate,  p.  106. 


ANTECEDENTS  TO  1861.  207 

1860,  speaks  out  unequivocally  on  this  point,  and  says : 
"  An  antislavery  Church  can  have  no  practical  existence  on 
slave  territory — and  we  may  add,  that  now  that  the  founda- 
tions of  the  old  Church  are  unsettled,  and  organization  is 
begun  anew,  hereafter  the  principles  adopted  will  conform 
precisely  to  the  only  ecclesiastical  practice  respecting  sbv- 
ery  that  is  possible  in  such  territory.  This  is  to  leave  the 
question  of  the  relation  alone,  and  to  address  itself  to  en- 
forcing the  observance  of  the  duties  that  arise  in  the  rela- 
tion of  master  and  slave." 

The  editor  adds :  "  Slavery  is  not  contrary  to  the  law  of 
God.  Such  law  can  not  be  formed.  Under  the  Mosaic 
dispensation  it  was  allowed.  Christ  and  the  apostles  dwelt 
in  the  midst  of  it,  and  uttered  no  word  against  it.  Christ 
healed  the  slave  of  a  Roman  soldier,  and  left  him  a  slave. 
The  apostle  gave  rules  for  regulating  the  morals  of  the  re- 
lation. Paul  returned  a  fugitive  slave  to  his  master." 

He  further  states,  in  the  usual  fallacious  sophistry,  of 
those  who  plead  for  sin :  "  Are  not  all  our  duties  relative 
duties,  and  is  it  not  the  sole  business  of  the  Church  to 
point  out,  and  explain,  and  enforce  these  duties — not  to 
attempt  a  cure  of  the  incidental  evils  by  dissolving  the  re- 
lations? So  we  understand  its  duties  as  to  every  relation, 
not  itself  clearly  prohibited  by  Divine  law." 

It  will  be  instructive  to  note  what  the  distinguished 
Henry  Clay  declared  on  the  subject  of  secession  recently 
before  his  death.  In  the  presence  of  some  leading  Meth- 
odist ministers  and  others,  who  observed  that  there  were 
few  who  would  be  mad  enough  to  rush  into  disunion,  he 
shook  his  head  ominously  and  said,  "  Gentlemen,  if  I  have 
studied  any  thing,  it  is  the  genius  and  spirit  of  the  Amer- 
ican people,  both  in  the  North  and  in  the  South,  and  I  tell 
you  there  is  danger.  There  is  a  spirit  rising  up  in  both 
sections  of  this  Republic,  which,  if  not  speedily  quelled, 


208  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

will  bring  about  a  severance  of  the  union' of  these  States, 
not  in  two,  but  into  half  a  dozen  little  petty  republics  or 
despotisms,  as  the  case  may  be."  It  was  said  to  him,  that 
at  former  times  there  were  like  threats  of  division.  "  Ah  !" 
said  he,  "  that  was  before  the  rise  of  modern  abolitionism — 
faDaticisrn  can  not  be  controlled,  and  especially  religious 
fanaticism.  The  Churches  of  the  country  then  stood  to- 
gether, and  in  their  great  annual  assemblies  they  drew  the 
bonds  of  union  and  brotherhood  together.  Now,  most  of 
them  have  been  rent  asunder,  and  they  are  acting  as  divid- 
ers, rather  than  to  bind  the  country.  Gentlemen,  you  are 
both  of  you  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  I  tell  you  this 
sundering  the  religious  ties,  which  have  hitherto  bound  our 
people  together,  I  consider  the  greatest  source  of  danger  to 
our  country.  If  our  religious  men  can  not  live  together  in 
peace,  what  can  be  expected  of  us  politicians,  very  few  of 
whom  profess  to  be  governed  by  the  great  principles  of 
love?  If  all  the  Churches  divide  on  the  subject  of  slavery, 
there  will  be  nothing  left  to  bind  our  people  together  but 
trade  and  commerce.  That  is  a  powerful  band  I  admit; 
but  when  the  people  of  these  States  become  thoroughly 
alienated  from  each  other,  and  get  their  passions  aroused, 
they  are  not  apt  to  stop  and  consider  what  is  to  their  inter- 
est. So  men  will  fight  if  they  consider  their  rights  tram- 
pled upon,  even  if  you  show  them  that  ruin  to  themselves 
and  families  will  be  the  probable  result.  Besides,  in  times 
of  high  excitement,  the  violent  men  on  both  sides  get  the 
control  of  matters,  and  moderate  men  are  thrown  into  the 
background,  and  their  counsels  go  unheeded.  If  you 
preachers  will  only  keep  the  Churches  from  running  into 
excesses  and  fanaticism,  I  think  the  politicians  can  control 
the  masses.  But  yours  is  the  hardest  task,  and  if  you  do 
not  perform  it  we  will  not  be  able  to  do  our  part.  That  I 
consider  the  greatest  source  of  danger  to  our  country." 


ANTECEDENTS  TO  1861.  209 

The  pro-slavery  teaching  of  the  Southern  Christian  Ad- 
vocate is  most  unsound.  According  to  the  law  of  Moses, 
he  that  stole  a  man  and  sold  him,  or  held  him  as  a  stolen 
man  or  a  slave,  was  to  be  put  to  death.  God  never  insti- 
tuted the  relation,  but  enjoins  its  dissolution.  The  case  of 
Joseph  is  a  clear  example  of  the  acts  of  enslavers ;  and 
the  man-stealer — that  is,  the  buyer  or  seller,  or  dealer  in 
slaves — is  placed  in  the  same  list  with  murderers  of  fathers 
and  murderers  of  mothers.  The  Southern  clergy  were  be- 
witched into  the  doctrines  of  the  pro-slavery  politicians, 
and  thus  were  decoyed  away  from  the  truth  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, which,  in  the  patriarchal  age,  in  the  Mosaic  law,  in 
the  prophets,  and  the  New  Testament,  condemned  most 
plainly  the  system  of  slavery.  It  is  at  least  the  implied 
office  of  Christianity,  among  other  things,  to  elevate  poli- 
tics and  other  civilizing  agencies  to  its  own  lofty  plain. 
How  sad,  then,  is  the  spectacle  when  the  Church  prostituted 
truckles  low  at  the  heels  of  a  corrupt  State ! 

It  is  the  peculiar  part  of  God's  ministers  to  sway,  im- 
press, fashion  mankind,  and  girt  with  truth,  to  lead  the 
van  of  the  world's  benefactors.  But  how  pitiably  is  their 
cause  betrayed  when  they,  seduced  and  entrapped,  come  to 
be  swayed,  impressed,  fashioned  by  the  cunning  craft  of 
men,  and  finally  fall  to  performing  an  enemy's  service  in 
the  King's  armor ! 

Mr.  Clay  seems  to  have  been  much  misled  himself  as  to 
the  true  Scriptural  teaching  on  slavery,  like  most  others 
who  allowed  themselves  to  hold  slaves.  It  was  not  aboli- 
tionism that  was  first  or  principally  in  error,  many  or  serious 
though  their  errors  might  be;  it  was  enslaving  human 
beings,  and  thus  depriving  them  of  the  fruits  of  their  labor, 
denying  them  education,  and  brutalizing  them  by  abso- 
lutely prohibiting  the  marriage  relation,  and  reducing  them 
to  a  state  of  degradation.  The  charge  of  Mr.  Clay,  that 
18 


210  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

abolitionism  would  be  the  cause  of  disunion,  was  incorrect, 
as  the  history  of  the  present  war  fully  testifies.  Not  aboli- 
tionism, but  slavery  drew  the  sword  for  disunion,  and  by 
the  sword  it  perished. 

5.  The  sentiment  of  disunion  became  very  general  among 
the  leading  Southern  politicians.  The  same  spirit  was 
caught  by  the  Southern  religious  press.  The  indications 
were  that,  on  the  division  of  the  Democratic  party,  Mr. 
Lincoln  would  .be  elected  President.  And.  indeed,  the  vio- 
lent Southern  men  were  even  disposed  to  divide  the  Demo- 
cratic party  in  order  to  have  a  plea  for  their  cause. 

The  Richmond  Christian  Advocate  of  January  19,  1860, 
says:  "The  whole  South  is  arming.  Non-intercourse  with 
the  North,  which  would  be  fraught  with  ruin  to  the  North, 
is  becoming  the  popular  idea  of  the  South.  Strong  men 
regard  disunion  as  inevitable.  The  South  is  grappling  ex- 
isting facts  with  a  giant  hand.  The  Southern  mind  is 
deeply  roused,  and  tranquillity  and  confidence  can  be  re- 
stored only  by  protection  of  its  constitutional  rights,  and 
not  by  compromises  of  any  sort,  or  speeches  however  elo- 
quent, or  resolutions  however  sound.  The  entire  South  is 
concentrating  on  the  single  principle  of  self-preservation 
and  separate  independence,  for  Southern  conservatism  is  fast 
settling  on  this  principle.  Northern  conservatism  alone  can 
save  the  Union.  The  contest  now  is  between  national  con- 
servatism and  abolitionism.  If  Northern  conservatism 
quails  in  the  present  crisis,  a  darkness  comes  down  upon 
us  in  which  we  can  not  even  see  our  hand  before  us." 

The  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate  of  February  9th,  after 
stating  that  there  has  been  a  constant  increase  of  free 
States  from  the  Revolution  down  to  the  present,  says,  there 
need  not  be  any  fears  on  the  part  of  slaveholders  for  want 
of  room,  as  the  slave  States  have  much  unoccupied  country. 
The  argument  on  this  was  to  the  effect  that  the  slave  power 


ANTECEDENTS  TO  1861.  211 

was  not  increasing.  But  this  was  a  manifest  fallacy,  as  it 
Lad  been  constantly  increasing  its  power,  and  by  the  Dred 
Scott  decision  might  cover  all  the  free  States.  The  Mem- 
phis Christian  Advocate  of  the  same  date  seems  to  be  hope- 
ful as  to  the  Union.  But  the  South-West  was  not,  at  that 
time,  fully  imbued  with  the  disunion  doctrines.  They 
deemed  it  enough  to  harass  Union  men  in  Texas,  Arkansas, 
and  Missouri,  and  to  control  them  by  mob-law  and  intimi- 
dation, till  they  would  either  adopt  the  pro-slavery  plat- 
form or  leave  the  country  for  Kansas,  California,  Oregon, 
or  the  old  free  States.  Indeed,  the  Methodist  population 
of  Missouri,  previous  to  1863,  must  have  been  20,000  less, 
in  consequence  of  this  persecution,  than  it  would  have  been 
under  ordinary  circumstances.  And  most  if  not  all  of  the 
Methodists  of  Arkansas  and  Texas  were  driven  out  of  these 
States. 

6.  The  case  of  David  A.  Hoover,  as  given  by  himself  in 
a  letter  dated  October  23,  1860,  and  published  in  an  Indi- 
ana paper,  will  show  the  state  of  affairs  in  Texas.  This 
narrative  was  copied  in  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of 
December  19,  1860.  His  departure  from  Texas  occurred 
in  July,  1860.  He  says : 

"Some  eighteen  years  ago  I  moved  from  Lafayette,  In- 
diana, to  Cape  Girardeau  county,  Missouri,  where  I  resided 
about  eleven  years.  From  thence  I  moved  to  North-West- 
ern  Texas,  where  I  purchased  six  hundred  and  forty  acres 
of  land,  to  which,  in  a  short  time,  I  added  one  hundred  and 
sixty  more,  and  soon  had  fifty  acres  under  cultivation. 

"I  attended  to  my  own  business,  working  on  my  farm, 
and  hiring  white  men  exclusively  to  assist  me  in  my  labor. 
This  was  noticed  by  a  friend  of  the  slave  oligarchy,  and  I 
was  asked  by  some  of  them  if  I  never  hired  negroes  to 
work  for  me.  I  told  them  that  when  I  lived  in  Missouri 
I  had  hired  negroes  to  work  for  me,  but  had  never  done  so 


212  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

in  Texas.  They  asked  me  the  reason.  I  told  them  I  pre- 
ferred hiring  white  men  for  two  reasons:  First,  because  I 
could  hire  them  cheaper;  secondly,  because  I  could  get  a 
great  deal  more  work  out  of  them  than  I  could  out  of 
negroes.  They  asked  my  opinion  in  regard  to  slavery.  I 
answered  frankly  that  I  thought  it  was  wrong,  but  that  it 
was  a  matter  I  did  not  wish  to  meddle  with — the  laws  of  the 
State  tolerated  slavery,  and  I  felt  no  disposition  to  rebel 
against  the  laws  of  my  adopted  State ;  that  while  I  was  op- 
posed to  the  further  extension  of  slavery,  and  to  the  re- 
opening of  the  slave-trade,  I  was  equally  opposed  to  med- 
dling with  it  in  the  States  where  it  already  existed  by  law. 
I  was  cautious  and  temperate  in  my  language,  and  was 
careful  never  to  speak  against  slavery  in  the  presence  of 
negroes.  It  was  whispered  around  the  neighborhood  that 
I  was  a  '  Black  Republican,  and  a  Methodist,  North,'  mean- 
ing of  the  Northern  Conference. 

"  At  the  Presidential  election,  four  years  ago,  myself  and 
another  man  in  the  neighborhood  voted  for  Fremont.  The 
fat  was  then  in  the  fire.  Whispers  gave  way  to  audible 
curses,  and  I  was  openly  denounced  as  a  '  d — d  abolitionist,' 
in  proof  of  which  triumphant  allusion  was  made  to  the  re- 
ception by  me  at  the  post-office  of  one  number  of  the  La- 
fayette Daily  Courier,  and  two  numbers  of  Greeley's  New 
York  Tribune,  which  they  considered  '  confirmation  strong 
as  Holy  Writ.' 

"  My  nephew  heard  them  plotting  a  mob  to  lynch  me,  or, 
in  less  classic  phrase,  to  '  black-jack '  me,  which  simply 
meant  to  tie  my  arms  round  a  rough  black-jack  tree,  strip 
me,  .and  whip  me  with  a  raw  hide  as  long  as  they  pleased. 
I  eluded  all  their  ambuscades,  if  any  were  laid  for  me. 

"  About  this  time  Rev.  Anthony  Bewley — since  sacrificed 

to  the  moloch  of  slavery — James  Hanan,  and  Willet 

commenced  preaching  at  my  house.  Soon  the  slaveocrats 


ANTECEDENTS  TO  1861.  213 

sent  me  word  that  if  I  let  them  preach  any  more  in  my 
house,  they  would  attend  to  me  and  them  too;  in  other 
words,  ^  would  make  me  hug  the  'black-jack;'  the  rest  was 
understood.  A  few  days  were  generally  given  after  the 
'  black-jack' ordeal  for  the  obnoxious  individual  to  leave 
the  State.  If  they  refused  to  go  after  being  warned,  they 
were  hung  without  judge  or  jury. 

"Insults  like  the  following  were  frequently  thrown  in  my 
teeth :  '  In  the  free  States  where  you  came  from,  black 
men  walked  locked  arms  with  white  women  to  church.'  I 
did  not  deign  to  answer  their  jibes  and  nonsense. 

"I  purposely  refrain  from  mentioning  many  indignities 
and  wrongs  practiced  upon  me  and  others  hailing  from  the 
free  States,  the  lynchings  and  murders  of  Free  State  men, 
expulsions  of  Methodist  ministers,  etc.,  as  the  columns  of 
our  public  journals  have  teemed  for  months  with  the  sick- 
ening details  of  murders,  lynchings,  banishments,  etc.,  not 
only  in  Texas,  but  throughout  the  entire  slaveocracy  of  the 
land.  The  writer  of  these  lines  was  compelled  but  a  few 
months  ago  to  fly  from  his  Texas  home  and  his  family, 
some  of  whom  were  sick,  to  save  his  life  from  being  sacri- 
ficed at  the  hands  of  a  brutal  mob,  simply  because  he. be- 
lieved that  slavery  was  wrong — that  it  was  wrong  to  part 
husband  and  wife,  parent  and  child — wrong  to  withhold  the 
Gospel  from  those  in  bonds,  or  prayers  that  the  oppressed 
might  go  free — wrong  for  man  to  seize  upon  his  brother 
and  compel  him  to  labor  for  him  without  his  consent  and 
without  compensation. 

"When  driven  from  home  I  had  but  fifty-five  cents  in  my 
pocket,  and  dared  not  stay  a  moment  to  prepare  for  a  long 
journey  of  about  eleven  hundred  miles,  and  take  leave  of 
my  dear  afflicted  family,  from  whom  I  have  been  unable  to 
obtain  any  tidings  since  I  left,  it  being  the  policy  of  the 
slave-demon  to  open  and  intercept  all  letters  and  documents 


214  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

that  do  not  shout  hosannas  to  this  mad  Nessus,  whose  shirt 
is  burning  him  to  death.  Reader,  had  you  been  compelled 
to  fly  for  your  life,  to  skulk  along  by-paths  like  a  culprit 
to  avoid  detection,  to  sleep  in  the  woods  at  nights  with- 
out shelter  and  often  without  food,  as  I  had  to  do  while 
passing  through  the  country  of  the  Philistines — would  you 
not  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  there  was  an  '  irre- 
pressible conflict'  going  on  in  this  country  between  slavery 
and  freedom?  and  that  bleeding,  retreating  freedom  was  in 
danger  of  being  crushed  out  of  the  land,  if  possible,  and 
slavery  declared  national,  and  freedom  sectional?  Already 
the  mouths  of  patriots  and  presses  have  been  gagged.  Men 
no  longer  dare  to  speak  or  write  their  sentiments  in  the 
South.  The  National  mail  is  rifled  by  those  sworn  to  pro- 
tect it  from  lawless  hands.  What  a  humiliating  picture  for 
a  free  government,  which  we  are  wont  to  hold  up  at  our 
Fourth  of  July  jubilees  as  the  paragon  of  political  perfec- 
tion !  as  the 

'  Land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave,' 

inviting  transatlantic  nations  to  light  their  torches  at  free- 
dom's altar  fires,  which  burn  brightly  on  every  hill  and  in 
every  valley!  But  we  are  careful  to  say  not  a  word  about 
the  foul  blot  upon  our  National  escutcheon — that  debasing 
slavery  that  would  be  denounced  even  by  semi-savages. 

"  Before  I  close,  permit  me  to  say  that  in  Texas  and  Mis- 
souri I  found  many  honorable  exceptions  who  never  bowed 
the  knee  to  Baal,  who  assisted  and  sympathized  with  me  in 
my  greatest  extremity,  many  of  whom  were  among  those 
who  owned  slaves. 

"  If  my  family  can  safely  return  to  a  land  of  free  speech, 
where  there  is  a  free  press,  even  at  the  sacrifice  of  my 
ample  property  there,  I  shall  be  happy." 

In   a   letter    dated    December   4,    1860,   he    says:     "My 


ANTECEDENTS  TO  1861.  215 

family  has  at  last  arrived  from  the  bloody  land  of  moboc- 
racy,  North-Western  Texas,  from  which  I  was  cruelly 
driven  July  last."  The  expulsion  of  Mr.  Hoover  was  in 
July,  and  that  of  Mr.  Bewley  in  October,  1860. 

In  a  letter  dated  Stockwell,  Ind.,  January  28,  1861,  and 
published  in  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  February, 
1861,  we  gather  the  following  further  account  of  Mr. 
Hoover,  and  his  escape  from  Texas: 

"Soon  after  this— that  is,  1858 — I  moved  to  Birdville, 
Tarrant  county,  Texas.  There  being  no  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  that  place,  and  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  South  promising  us  protection, 
we  joined  that  Church.  Previous  to  that  time,  I  had  fre- 
quently been  urged  by  preachers  of  other  denominations  to 
join  the  South,  saying  then  I  would  have  friends,  and  might 
be  useful  to  the  Church.  I  was  a  member  of  this  Church 
about  one  year,  during  which  time  I  have  frequently  heard 
the  preachers  and  official  members  say,  that  the  Northern 
abolition  preachers  were  sent  here  to  sow  the  seed  of  dis- 
cord among  the  blacks.  After  living  in  Birdville  about  a 
year,  I  moved  back  to  my  farm.  About  this  time,  I  had 
some  relations  come  to  see  me  from  Indiana;  this  created 
some  excitement.  They  wanted  to  know  of  me  what  their 
business  was.  I  told  them  they  had  come  to  look  for 
homes.  About  the  middle  of  July  my  brother  came  to 
see  me  and  to  settle  in  Texas. 

"On  the  25th  of  July,  1860,  I  left  for  Fort  Worth  on 
business,  in  company  with  my  brother.  When  I  got  home 
next  morning  my  family  told  me  that,  soon  after  leaving 
the  morning  previous  for  Fort  Worth,  a  couple  of  men 
who  hitherto  professed  to  be  my  friends,  came  to  let  me 
know  that  the  Fort  Worth  Committee  were  coming  to  see 
me.  That  week  the  Committee  heard  that  I  was  a  Northern 
Methodist;  that  I  thought  John  Brown  was  a  Christian; 


216  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

and  if  they  proved  such  things,  I  was  to  be  hung.  If 
I  had  any  business  to  fix  up,  I  had  better  improve  the 
time.  Some  of  the  Committee  told  my  wife  that  I  had  too 
many  strangers  about  me.  She  told  them  that  we  were 
members  of  the  Church  South.  They  said  if  -the  Com- 
mittee knew  that,  they  might  not  hang  me.  This  was  soon 
after  they  hung  Crawford  and  others.  After  deliberation, 
I  concluded  to  leave  the  God-forsaken  country,  let  the 
sacrifice  be  what  it  might,  and  go  to  some  free  State  where 
I  could  live  in  peace. 

"I  started  about  eleven  o'clock  the  same  day,  sick  and 
feeble.  We  expected  them  to  follow  us.  The  second  day 
we  missed  our  way,  a  man  giving  us  wrong  directions,  and 
we  did  not  strike  the  road  for  a  hundred  miles.  On  the 
third  day,  being  weary  in  body  and  mind,  I  fell  asleep  on  the 
saddle,  and  lost  my  coat,  pocket-book,  papers,  notes,  etc. 

"While  I  told  my  brother  to  proceed  to  where  the  horses 
might  obtain  water,  I  traveled  back  five  miles  in  search  of 
my  coat,  etc.,  and  had  to  return  without  finding  them. 
Here  we  were  in  a  strange  land,  and  not  knowing  what 
minute  we  would  be  taken  and  hung.  It  was  then  I  cried : 
'  0  Lord  of  hosts !  thou  who  preservest  man  and  beast ;  if 
I  have  given  no  just  cause  for  this  persecution,  then  do, 
thoii  deliver  me  from  bloody  and  deceitful  men.'  It  was 
midnight  when  I  returned.  I  lay  down  and  slept  till 
morning.  The  fourth  day  I  felt  that  the  Lord  was  with 
us.  This  day  we  heard  of  some  people  being  run  out  of 
the  State.  On  the  fifth  day  a  friend  gave  me  a  coat  and 
vest.  Another  gave  me  thirteen  dollars.  On  the  sixth 
day  we  rested.  On  the  seventh  day  we  saw  three  families 
fleeing  to  a  free  State.  On  the  eighth  day,  in  the  after- 
noon, we  passed  through  Clarksville.  While  there,  we 
learned  that  a  couple  of  men  had  arrived  from  Fort  Worth, 
whom  we  eluded,  and  escaped  unobserved.  I  learned  that 


ANTECEDENTS  TO  1861.  217 

the  Tcxans  followed  us  for  eight  days.  On  the  ninth  day 
we  crossed  Red  River,  and  saw  a  man  leaving  for  Illinois 
on  horseback,  intending  to  send  back  for  his-  family.  The 
Fort  Worth  Committee  did  not  follow  us,  but  another  did, 
one  at  a  time." 

7.  Although  the  action  of  the  General  Conference  was 
less  stringent  on  the  subject  of  slavery  than  any  of  its 
predecessors,  nevertheless  the  antislavery  sentiment  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  apart  from  the  written  ex- 
pressions of  the  new  chapter,  was  as  deep  and  as  stringent 
as  at  any  time  previous  to  1844.  But  the  pro-slavery 
element  had  deeply  imbued  the  Baltimore  Conference,  and 
hence  their  opposition  to  any  thing  that  would  give  a 
sound  Methodist  check  to  the  encroachments  of  human 
bondage.  The  Baltimore  Christian  Advocate  was  the 
mouthpiece  of  the  pro-slavery  malcontents.  Dr.  Bond,  jr., 
the  editor,  was  unmindful  of  his  early  teachings,  and 
in  close  affinity  with  the  Richmond  editor,  both  of  whom 
attended  „  the  General  Conference,  and  reported  in  their 
papers  such  material  as  would  tend  to  throw  the  Baltimore 
Conference  into  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  or 
to  form  a  new  border  Church.  Portions  of  the  Philadel- 
phia Conference  were  inoculated  with  the  same  virus,  but 
the  war  cured  it.  The  Western  Virginia  Conference  was 
partially  infected,  but  this  was  only  temporary.  Our  Ken- 
tucky Conference  showed  signs  of  this  disorder.  A  few 
lay  members  of  the  Missouri  Conference,  who  read  the 
Baltimore  Christian  Advocate,  by  this  sophistical  sheet 
were  lost  to  religion,  patriotism,  and  the  Church.  But  the 
preachers  of  the  Missouri  Conference  were  entirely  free 
from  the  contagion.  I  pass  over,  however,  the  anomalies 
of  the  more  eastern  Conferences,  and  confine  our  attention 
to  the  South-West  as  the  field  of  our  narrative.  Yet  the 
prestige  of  these  old  Conferences,  in  the  place  of  aiding  the 

19 


218  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

South-West  by  their  mixed  course,  was  a  barrier,  for  a  time, 
to  South-Western  Methodist  interests ;  but  all  this  passed 
away  as  a  morning  cloud  when  the  pro-slavery  war  invaded 
Missouri. 

8.  That  Southern  Methodists  entered  fully  into  the  inter- 
ests of  the  rebels,  and  .labored  to  draw  border  Methodists 
into  their  measures,  we  have  the  fullest  proofs. 

The  Rev.  J.  B.  M'Ferrin  wrote  for  the  Richmond  Chris- 
tian Advocate  with  this  special  design.  In  a  second  letter, 
headed  THE  BORDER  ONCE  MORE,  dated  July  3,  1860,  he 
even  lays  down  the  plan  of  transferring  the  border  Con- 
ferences to  the  South,  or  if  this  did  not  succeed,  to  encour- 
age a  border  Church,  which  would  in  the  issue  be  prepared 
to  go  South.  He  sets  forth  three  measures  for  the  Balti- 
more Conference,  one  of  which  they  must  take,  in  his  esti- 
mation. 

"  1.  They  have  to  submit  to  the  action  of  the  General 
Conference,  and  subject  themselves  to  a  degradation  beneath 
their  real  position  ;  or, 

"  2.  They  must  set  up  an  independent  organization,  and 
constitute  a  Church  of  their  own ;  or, 

"  3.  They  must  adhere  South,  and  become  one  with  their 
brethren  of  the  Southern  Church." 

Mr.  /M'Ferrin  then  argued  :  "  The  first,  Virginians  and 
Marylanders  will  never  do ;  the  second  will  hardly  be 
practicable,  unless  they  can  bring  into  their  organization 
several  neighboring  Conferences;  the  third  is  the  only 
practicable  method." 

Such  was  the  plan  which  he  elaborated  on  true  pro- 
slavery  and  Southern  principles,  and  maintained  would 
strengthen  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  by  the 
addition  of  all  the  border  Conferences,  Missouri  included, 
by  omitting  every  thing  about  slavery  in  profession.  Nev- 
ertheless, such  a  combination,  like  the  Methodist  Episcopal 


ANTECEDENTS  TO  1861.  219 

Church  South,  would  have  thrown  all  its  influence  to  ex- 
tend it,  though  professing  the  contrary.  The  Southern 
Methodist  press  was  very  zealous  to  carry  the  border  with 
them,  and  claiming  that  nothing  should  be  said  against 
slavery,  they  persisted  in  saying  nothing  against  it,  except 
that  it  was  merely  a  political  or  civil  affair  with  which  the 
Church  had  nothing  to  do.  This  is  absurd  enough.  As 
if  the  Church  had  nothing  to  do  with  theft,  robbery,  op- 
pression, and  disfranchisement  of  natural  rights,  such  as 
life,  liberty,  and  happiness.  Let  us  cite  a  few  of  their  say- 
ings as  specimens  of  a  great  many. 

The  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate  of  May  17th,  in  urg- 
ing such  a  union  as  Mr.  M'Ferrin  proposes,  and  condemn- 
ing any  antislavery  utterance  of  our  General  Conference, 
says: 

"  And  what  change  do  they  need  ?  Why,  simply  such  a 
change  as  will  put  them  right  where  the  Church  South 
is — a  striking  of  every  thing  relating  to  that  subject  from 
their  book  of  Discipline  ;  that  is  what  they  need.  Let 
that  be  done,  and  then  each  individual  be  allowed  freely  to 
enjoy  his  own  opinion  on  this  as  on  all  other  political 
questions.  If  they  do  this,  Methodists  will  again  be  united 
from  one  extremity  of  the  country  to  the  other,  but  not 
otherwise.  The  South  is  right  on  this  question,  and  can 
never  recede." 

The  Richmond  Christian  Advocate  of  July  19th  declares, 
"  No  antislavery  Church  can  flourish  or  even  long  exist  in 
Virginia.  Why?"  The  editor  then  proceeds  to  give  his 
reasons. 

It  says,  August  2d,  in  reference  to  the  absorption  of  the 
Baltimore  Conference  by  the  South :  "  But  how  may  this 
most  desirable  union  be  effected?  We  propose  the  following 
plan,  and  this  we  do  by  authority :  Let  preachers,  circuits, 
stations,  and  even  a  Conference  inform  the  bishops,  or  any 


220  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

one  of  them,  that  they  desire  to  unite  with  the  Southern 
Methodist  Church,  and  by  episcopal  authority  union  will 
be  at  once  effected.  The  relation  between  a  pastor  and  his 
charge  will  not  be  disturbed.  For  example,  in  a  station 
or  circuit  where  now  there  are  Baltimore  and  Virginia 
churches  and  preachers,  both  can  remain  unmolested,  for 
both  will  be  under  the  same  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction.  In 
a  word,  the  Southern  bishops^  or  any  one  of  them,  can  and 
will  suitably  arrange  any  case  of  proposed  union  with  the 
Southern  Church.  We  repeat,  this  is  suggested  on  high 
authority,  and  if  accepted,  trouble  on  the  border  will  at 
once  end."  From  the  foregoing  it  appears  that  the  plan 
of  breaking  up,  schismatically,  the  charges  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church  on  the  border  had  been  adopted  by 
the  Southern  bishops  and  the  leaders  of  the  Southern 
Church.  The  editors  of  the  Baltimore  and  Richmond  Ad- 
vocates, who  had  been  in  close  united  deliberation  at  the 
General  Conference,  seem  to  have  matured  this  plan  and 
secured  its  approbation  and  indorsement  by  the  bishops 
and  other  leaders  of  the  Southern  Church. 

The  New  Orleans  Christian  Advocate  of  August  29th  is 
rampant  on  the  subject.  On  the  conspiracy  in  Texas,  re- 
ferring to  his  abolition  brethren,  religious  and  political,  he 
says :  "  Their  abolition  doctrine  has  been  the  direct  cause 
of  both  the  John  Brown  and  the  Texas  conspiracies,  to- 
gether with  all  similar  disturbances."  He  raves  on,  and 
referring  to  the  discolored  misrepresentations  of  the  pro- 
slavery  men.  which  he  ascribes  to  the  abolitionists,  he  says : 
"  The  men,  the  old  women,  and  the  children  were  all  to  be 
killed,  and  the  young  women  to  be  devoted  to  a  far  more 
horrible  fate.  And  this  is  the  fruit  of  abolitionism — of  an- 
tisla  very  ism — of  the  teaching  of  the  antislavery  press,  and 
pulpit,  and  rostrum !  Can  any  man  candidly  and  conscien- 
tiously deny  it  ?  And  this  is  the  forlorn  hope  of  the  Black 


ANTECEDENTS  TO  1861.  221 

Republican  army  which  is  now  seeking  the  control  of  the 
Government.  These  conspirators  are  the  advance  guard  of 
the  Black  Republican  party  to  which  Dr.  Abel  Stevens  pro- 
fesses to  belong,  and  which  the  majority  of  Northern  Meth- 
odists, it  is  said,  will  support  in  the  ensuing  Presidential 
election !  This  is  the  doctrine  taught  by  the  entire  North- 
ern Methodist  press,  edited  by  such  men  as  Drs.  Thomson, 
Kingsley,  Haven,  and  Elliott,  the  latter  in  slaveholding  ter- 
ritory. This  is  what  is  meant  by  that  freedom  of  speech." 
He  then  laments  that  "  Bishop  Janes  fills  the  ear  of  the 
country  with  his  complaints  against  that  accomplished  gen- 
tlemen and  patriot,  Judge  Roberts,  and  his  associates.  This 
is  the  fruit  of  the  Gospel  the  Northern  Methodist  preachers 
wish  to  preach  in  Texas.  The  blood  of  the  revolution  of 
San  Domingo,  of  Kansas,  of  Harper's.  Ferry,  and  of  this 
Texas  infamy,  rests  on  the  head  of  these  modern  Tories 
and  incendiaries." 

He  raves  on  about  the  "  logical  responsibility  of  Black 
Republicans  and  abolitionists  for  these  results."  He  pro- 
ceeds :  "  How  a  man  can  teach  abolition  doctrines,  or  sup- 
port the  Black  Republican  party,  and  not  be  a  villain,  our 
casuistry  does  not  enable  us  to  determine.  Such  a  man  is 
logically  an  incendiary  and  a  murderer,  whatever  he  may 
be  in  purpose." 

Of  slavery  he  says :  "  Southern  slavery,  as  a  rule,  is  the 
mildest  and  most  benevolent  system  of  labor  in  the  world, 
and  the  slaves,  without  abolition  temptation,  are  the  most 
contented  and  happy  laborers." 

Of  abolition  he  says  :  "  It  is  the  life  of  modern  politics, 
the  falsehood  of  modern  philosophy,  the  apostasy  of  mod- 
ern Christianity,  and  the  curse  of  modern  civilization.  If 
ever  men  deserved  the  doom  which  Benedict  Arnold  es- 
caped, Win.  H.  Seward,  Horace  Greeley,  Charles  Sumner, 
Wendell  Phillips,  and  their  abettors,  political  and  clerical, 


222  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

are  the  men."  Such  were  the  sentiments  uttered  by  the 
Southern  Methodist  press,  and  for  extravagance  they  scarcely 
find  an  equal  any  where.  It  is  not  marvelous  that  Bewley 
was  murdered  by  Texans,  to  whom  such  teachings  were  ut- 
tered by  a  professedly  religious  paper.  It  would  be  rather 
a  marvel  if  the  people  at  large  had  been  better  than  their 
teachers. 

Rev.  N.  J.  B.  Morgan,  of  the  Baltimore  Conference,  in 
the  Baltimore  Christian  Advocate  of  September  29th,  un- 
der the  heading  of  "  The  tendency  of  the  movement  among 
us  for  immediate  separation  is  to  carry  us  to  the  Church 
South,"  shows  very  plainly  that  the  result  of  the  cause 
argued  by  the  Advocate  would  be  to  transfer  the  Baltimore 
Conference  to  the  South. 

At  this  date,  August,  1864,  the  matter  is  clear,  that  the 
design  of  the  malcontents  was  to  unite  with  Southern 
Methodists. 

9.  During  this  year,  Bishop  Gr.  F.  Pierce,  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  South,  wrote  a  great  number  of 
letters  from  California  to  the  Southern  Christian  Advocate, 
and  they  were  copied  in  all  the  papers  x>f  his  Church.  In 
Letter  XIY,  dated  Sunshine,  September  7,  1860,  he  argues 
that  his  Church  should  be  an  occupant  of  all  lands.  Hear 
him: 

"  I  hope  the  day  will  come  when  we  shall  be  numerously 
represented  in  every  State  and  Territory  of  the  American 
continent,  in  every  nation  and  province,  every  continent  and 
island  of  this  round  earth." 

After  this  exceedingly  zealous  and  hopeful  prognostic  of 
the  future  influence  of  his  Church,  and  after  stating  that 
he  had  traveled  through  California,  he  presents  the  follow- 
ing methodical  programme: 

"1.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  is  a  neces- 
sity and  a  blessing  in  California. 


ANTECEDENTS  TO  1861.  223 

"2.  The  Pacific  ought  to  be  vigorously  maintained  by 
means  and  men. 

"3.  If  our  Church  authorities  would  send  strong,  wise, 
experienced  ministers  here,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South  in  five  years  would  outnumber  all  other  denomina- 
tions combined.  The  Church,  North,  would  rival  us  in  the 
cities  and  in  the  mines;  in  the  rural  districts  we  should 
soon  count  five  to  their  one,  and  in  a  short  time,  as  far 
as  Methodism  is  concerned,  would  be  well-nigh  the  sole 
occupants  of  the  land.  I  put  these  opinions  on  record 
here.  Time  will  test  their  soundness." 

Full  of  self-confidence,  the  zealous  and  fanatical  Pierce 
says:  "While  we  hold  to  the  Bible,  and  Christ  the  Head, 
we  can  not,  dare  not  change  our  position.  The  North,  de- 
luded by  a  false  idea,  will  not  change.  So  we  must  leave 
them  with  Reuben  and  Gad,  and  the  half  tribe  of  Manasseh, 
on  this  side  of  Jordan,  while  we  go  up  to  possess  the 
land."  He  then  adds:  "We  have  a  Conference  of  sixty 
odd  preachers  in  California,  but  they  are  mostly  young 
men  without  experience  and  not  adapted  to  portions  of  the 
work."  Toward  the  end  of  his  long  letter,  he  boasts  that 
"we  are  not  obtruders  on  free  soil,  as  some  think." 

In  his  XVIth  Letter,  in  the  Southern  Christian  Advocate 
of  October  18,  1860,  the  Bishop  assumes  quite  a  mission- 
ary attitude.  He  says:  "Our  division  of  Methodism  is 
free  to  go  any  where  and  every-where,  because  our  sole 
aim  and  policy  is  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  nothing  but 
the  Gospel,  to  bond  and  free." 

He  waxes  warm  in  glorying.  He  says:  "We  came  out 
from  abolition  Babylon  a  persecuted  people.  We  have 
taken  the  dead  fly  out  of  the  pot  of  ointment;  we  have 
got  our  division  of  Zion  back  upon  the  old  apostolic  plat- 
form. .  .  .  The  great  commission  ought  to  be  the  motto 
on  our  banner.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South 


224  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

is  just  as  much  at  home  in  California  as  in  Georgia.  .  .  She 
knows  no  North,  or  South,  or  East,  or  West,  but  is  free 
to  go  wherever  there  are  souls  to  save  over  this  broad 
earth.  Sooner  or  later,  if  faithful  to  her  high  and  holy 
calling,  she  will  be  welcome  every-where." 

Our  missionary  Bishop  then  proceeds  to  state  that  he 
sent  four  preachers  to  Oregon,  for  the  people  were  hungry 
for  the  bread  of  life,  and  were  tired  of  abolition  lectures. 
He  promises,  during  the  current  year,  to  send  to  Oregon 
at  least  ten  more  preachers,  and  concludes  thus  about 
Oregon:  "Already  they  have  gathered  more  than  three 
hundred  members,  have  had  camp  meetings,  great  revivals, 
and  the  fields  are  white  unto  the  harvest.  By  1862  I  ex- 
pect the  General  Conference  to  set  off"  the  Oregon  Confer- 
ence, and  perhaps  include  the  Washington  Territory." 

Such  is  the  vain  boasting  of  this  apostle  of  slavery. 
The  year  1862  passed  away,  and  their  General  Conference, 
which  was  to  have  convened  in  New  Orleans,  could  not 
meet,  because  it  was  composed  of  traitors.  Their  Kansas 
Conference  is  dead.  And  even  Bishop  Pierce,  in  the  place 
of  preaching  the  Gospel,  has  become  a  traitor  to  his  coun- 
try, and  has  been  engaged  in  supporting  Ihe  wicked  cause 
of  Southern  rebellion.  Lord,  what  is  man!  What  confi- 
dence can  be  placed  in  princes! 

But  the  worse  portion  of  this  same  letter  of  Bishop 
George  F.  Pierce  is  his  palpably  false  caricature  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which  we  had  occasion  to 
quote  in  our  narrative  about  Bewley. 

10.  So  exceedingly  sensitive  were  the  Southern  people,  and 
Southern  Methodists,  as  well  as  others,  that  they  consid- 
ered the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  as  the  sign  for  the  dis- 
ruption of  the  Union.  The  Southern  politicians  led  the 
way,  and  the  clergy  had  now  so  learned  the  lesson  of  re- 
echoing only  what  the  politicians  did  and  said,  that  the 


ANTECEDENTS  TO  1861.  225 

Southern  religious  press  seemed  prepared  to  go  all  lengths 
in  this  false  step. 

The  North  Carolina  Christian  Advocate  of  August  30th 
furnishes  the  following: 

"  If  the  present  aspect  of  parties  continue  till  Novem- 
ber, Lincoln  will  be  elected  by  the  popular  vote. 

"If  Lincoln-  be  elected,  a  dissolution  of  the  Union, 
within  twelve  months,  is  inevitable. 

"A  dissolution  of  this  Union  can  not  be  peaceful.  It 
will  be  followed  by  a  civil  war,  the  most  inveterate  and 
horrible. 

"The  South  will  not  submit  to  the  rule  of  a  Black  Re- 
publican President." 

After  these  statements,  the  editor  deplores  the  dissolution 
of  the  Union.  But  he  says  nothing  of  the  duty  of  sub- 
mitting to  the  choice  of  the  people,  whether  the  elected 
person  belongs  to  the  one  or  the  other  school  of  politics. 

The  New  Orleans  Christian  Advocate  of  October  31st 
utters  a  similar  prognostication. 

The  same  paper,  of  November  21st,  thinks  that  secession 
will  follow  the  Presidential  election. 

Dr.  A.  B.  Longstreet,  of  Charleston,  S.  C.,  on  November 
12th,  the  last  day  of  the  special  session  that  went  for  se- 
cession, in  his  prayer  as  chaplain  of  the  House,  gives  us 
the  following,  connected  with  general  confessions.  Refer- 
ring to  the  slaves  in  his  prayer,  he  asks: 

"  Have  we  given  to  them  that  which  is  just  and  equal,  for- 
bear ing  threatening?  Have  we  granted  to  them  Gospel  and 
Sabbath-day  privileges?  Have  we  made  them  easily  acces- 
sible to  God's  ministers?  Have  we  made  no  unreasonable 
exactions  of  them?  imposed  on  them  no  unnecessary  bur- 
dens? Have  we  ministered  to  them  in  sickness  and  dis- 
tress? Have  we  fed  and  clothed  them  well?  If  we  have, 
then  we  may  say,  We  have  nothing  to  fear  from  their 


226  SOUTH-WESTEKN  METHODISM. 

professed  champions.  Our  servants  shall  be  to  us  as  Abra- 
ham's were  to  him:  auxiliaries  in  war,  and  household 
friends  and  confidents  in  peace."  Dr.  Long-street,  before  he 
was  a  Methodist  preacher,  was  a  warm  politician,  and  ever 
since  has  been,  at  least,  as  enthusiastic  in  politics  as  in  the 
Gospel.  But  the  South  Carolinians  did  not  heed  him, 
when  he  warned  them,  in  one  of  his  political  harangues, 
"not  to  fire  the  first  gun."  They  fired  on  Sumter,  and 
opened  the  war. 

The  editor  of  the  Nashville  Christian  Advocate,  in  writ- 
ing from  Baton  Rouge,  December  6th,  in  his  paper  of  De- 
cember 20th,  sounds  the  tocsin  of  revolt  throughout  the 
South- West,  and  represents  the  whole  country  as  ready  for 
it,  and  the  Methodists  especially. 

The  South  Carolina  Conference,  which  sat  from  the  13th 
to  the  18th  of  December,  Bishop  Paine  presiding,  adopted 
a  report,  submitted  by  eight  of  their  leading  men,  which 
declared  that  "  they  would  act  in  harmony  with  the  South 
in  resisting  Northern  domination."  And  further,  "that 
this  Conference  tender  the  State  of  South  Carolina  their 
encouragement,  their  sympathies,  their  affections,  their  in- 
tercession with  Heaven,  their  all — subject  only  to  the  para- 
mount claims  of  God  upon  them."  This  act  of  the  Con- 
ference was  prior  to  the  act  of  secession  of  South  Carolina. 

Thus,  the  political  press  of  the  South  was  seconded  by 
the  religious  press  in  favoring  secession.  And  all  prepared 
the  way  for  the  events  that  followed  in  the  South-West, 
with  which  our  narrative  is  especially  concerned,  and  the 
occurrences  elsewhere  were  intimately  connected  with  those 
of  the  South-West. 


EVENTS  IN  MISSOUKI.  227 


CHAPTER   XI. 

EVENTS  PRECEDING  THE  CAPTURE  OF  CAMP  JACKSON. 

1.  IN  1860  the  leaders  in  the  South,  both  in  Church  and 
State,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  preceding  pages,  were  antici- 
pating and  preparing  for  the  premeditated  secession. 

Before  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  the  political  leaders 
declared  that  should  he  be  elected  secession  must  follow. 
Similar  utterances  were  heard  from  the  religious  press,  with 
scarcely  a  dissent  Jrom  the  headlong  politicians.  Of  these 
we  have  given  specimens. 

But  when  Mr.  Lincoln  was  elected  there  was  a  perfect 
outburst  of  indignation,  accompanied  with  unscrupulous  dec- 
larations that  secession  and  rebellion  must  follow  the  selec- 
tion of  such  a  President. 

The  work  of  secession,  indeed,  actually  began  at  the  close 
of  1860.  South  Carolina  seceded  December  20,  1860. 
Mississippi,  January  9,  Alabama,  January  11,  Georgia, 
January  19,  and  Louisiana,  January  26,  1861,  declared  for 
secession.  In  the  one  month  of  January,  five  States  joined 
South  Carolina.  February  1st,  Texas  followed ;  April  17th, 
Virginia ;  May  6th,  Arkansas  and  Tennessee ;  and  May 
13th,  North  Carolina.  Three  States  only,  namely,  Louisi- 
ana, Texas,  and  Tennessee,  submitted  the  ordinance  of  se- 
cession to  the  people.  The  eight  other  rebel  States  seceded 
without  any  regard  to  the  will  of  the  people.  They  pro- 
claimed their  action  with  all  boldness,  and  called  on  the 
other  slave  States,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Kentucky,  and  Mis- 
souri, to  follow  their  example. 


228  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

2.  The  Southern  Methodist  Conferences  -seem  to  have  an- 
ticipated the  rebellion  of  the  South,  and  were  in  haste  to 
proclaim  themselves  the  partners  of  the  politicians  in  the 
work  of -rebellion. 

The  South  Carolina  Conference,  on  the  15th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1860,  five  days  before  the  secession  of  the  State,  pro- 
claimed themselves  on  the  side  of  rebellion.  While  the 
State  Convention  was  in  session,  December  17th,  the  Con- 
ference met  for  prayer  on  their  behalf,  and  the  chairman, 
Rev.  H.  A.  C.  Walker,  declared  "  the  interests  of  the 
Southern  States  are  identical,  and  we  must  Jiang  together  or 
Jiang  by  ourselves."  The  report  of  the  Conference  went  to 
say,  that  "they  can  never  forget  the  high  allegiance  which 
they  owe  to  the  claims  of  their  country,  the  land  of  their 
birth.  That  while  they  deplore  the  necessity  that  exists 
for  separation  from  the  Federal  Union,  yet  in  view  of  all 
the  history  of  the  past,,  the  perils  of  the  present,  and  the 
threatened  wrongs  of  the  future,  they  felt  in  honor  and 
duty  bound  to  move  in  harmony  with  the  South,  in  resist- 
ing Northern  domination.  .  .  .  And  that  this  Confer- 
ence tender  to  the  State  of  South  Carolina  their  encourage- 
ment, their  sympathy,  their  affections,  their  intercessions 
with  Heaven  in  her  behalf,  their  all — subject  only  to  the 
paramount  claims  of  God  upon  them." 

The  Alabama  Conference,  as  a  preface  to  their  resolu- 
tions, passed  December  19th,  utter  the  following  moral 
heresies : 

"That  we  believe  African  slavery,  as  it  exists  in  the 
Southern  States  of  this  Republic,  to  be  a  wise,  humane,  and 
righteous  institution,  approved  of  God,  and  calculated  to  pro- 
mote to  the  highest  possible  degree  the  welfare  of  the  slave." 

u  That  the  inauguration  of  any  political  measures  which 
look  to  the  overthrow  of  this  institution,  or  provide  in  any 
manner  or  at  any  time,  however  distant,  for  the  removal  of 


EVENTS  IN  MISSOURI.  229 

this  servile  class  out  of  a  dependent  relation,  which  is  their 
true  and  normal  state,  into  one  of  whose  duties  and  responsi- 
bilities they  are  incapable,  can  only  be  dictated  by  a  blind 
fanaticism,  which  will  not  listen  to  reason,  but  madly  destroy 
those  whom  it  attempts  to  aid." 

"  That  as,  in  the  providence  of  God,  several  millions  of 
the  African  race  have  been  committed  to  our  care  as  a 
people,  we  should  be  recreant  to  that  trust  if  we  did  not  de- 
fend our  right  to  their  service  against  any  and  all  enemies 
now  and  forever." 

After  uttering  these  unscriptural  and  inhuman  declara- 
tions, the  Conference  declares  that  the  election  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln was  a  declaration  of  hostility  to  the  people  of  the 
South,  and  in  fact,  if  not  in  form,  dissolves  the  Union,  and 
forces  the  South  to  defend  themselves.  They  then  pledge 
themselves  most  solemnly  to  sustain  the  States  of  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  and  Florida,  as  their  Conference  embraced  parts 
of  these  three  States  within  its  bounds. 

The  Virginia  Conference,  at  its  session  in  December,  ex- 
presses itself  in  equally  strong  terms. 

The  Georgia  Conference  was  of  the  same  mind  with  the 
Alabama,  for  after  their  adjournment,  of  ninety-six  preach- 
ers in  the  cars,  where  a  ballot  was  taken,  eighty -seven  voted 
for  secession,  and  nine  against  it. 

Thus,  the  leading  Southern  Conferences  were  fully  pre- 
pared to  encourage  rebellion,  in  its  incipient  steps,  instead 
of  uttering,  as  they  ought,  solemn  protests  against  it. 

The  New  Orleans  Christian  Advocate  of  January  9,  1861, 
with  the  heading,  "Let  us  Separate  Peaceably,"  argues  ve- 
hemently for  the  irrepressible  conflict,  and  spurns  the  very 
idea  of  submission  by  the  South.  Rev.  A.  B.  Longstreet, 
in  the  Southern  Christian  Advocate,  urges  secession,  and 
concludes  that  "  any  man  should  be  excused  for  desiring  to 
flee  from  the  dangers  of  abolition  .rule." 


230  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Mr.  M'Tyeire,  editor  of  the  Nashville  Christian  Advocate, 
in  two  letters  published  early  in  January,  while  he  was 
attending  Southern  Conferences  in  Georgia,  Alabama,  Mis- 
sissippi, and  Louisiana,  very  graphically  portrays  with  exult- 
ation the  spirit  of  secession  which  he  argues  as  an  event  to 
be  looked  for  with  certainty  in  all  the  South;  and  although 
it  was  not  then  an  accomplished  fact,  all  the  elements  that 
would  make  it  so  were  then  in  active  existence  and  efficient 
operation. 

Thus  we  see  secession  was  now  the  order  of  the  day  in 
the  slave  States.  But  as  we  are  to  consider  how  this  af- 
fected the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Missouri,  we  turn 
to  the  South- West  for  information. 

3.  In  Missouri,  at  this  time,  there  was  more  caution  and 
secrecy  used  than  further  South,  by  secessionists.  It  is  now 
well  known,  that  for  many  months  the  conspirators  were 
stealthily  preparing  for  the -re volt. 

In  St.  Louis,  the  leaders,  under  Gov.  Claiborne  F.  Jack- 
son, were  secretly  preparing  the  way  for  actual  insurrection. 
It  was  resolved  by  them  to  take  away  all  'the  money  in  the 
Sub-Treasury,  and  seize  the  arms  in  the  Arsenal.  A  steam- 
boat lay  at  anchor  in  the  river  the  first  week  in  .January, 
which  was  to  take  the  money  in  the  Treasury  to  New  Or- 
leans. The  prevention  was  as  follows:  Although  the  se- 
crecy of  the  scheme  in  St.  Louis  was  complete,  one  of  those 
privy  to  it  happened  to  be  on  a  visit  to  Newport,  Kentucky, 
and  while  there  observed  to  an  acquaintance,  that  soon  the 
Sub-Treasury  in  St.  Louis  would  be  seized.  The  person  to 
whom  the  intelligence  was  thus,  accidentally  conveyed  was  a 
loyal  citizen,  and  informed  the  military  commander  at  New- 
port of  the  purposed  robbery.  The  commander  at  Newport 
sent  two  or  more  companies  of  regular  soldiers,  to  guard  the 
Sub-Treasury  and  Arsenal  at  St.  Louis.  By  this  means  the 
proposed  seizure  of  the  money  and  arms  was  frustrated, 


EVENTS  IN  MISSOURI.  231 

although  the  rebels  had  stealthily  commenced  arming  and 
preparing  for  the  attack.  They  had  even  collected  ten 
thousand  stands  of  arms  in  a  tobacco  warehouse,  and  had 
brought  cannon  and  musketry  from  the  South-West. 

4.  But  another  movement  was  set  on  foot  in  favor  of  re- 
bellion.    On  the  first  Saturday  of  January,  1861,  what  was 
intended  to  be  a  joint  resolution  of  the  Legislature  passed 
the  Senate,  and  was  sent  to  the  House  for  its  passage  there. 
But  owing  to  the  formalities  of  the  House  it  was  delayed, 
and,  by   the   exertion  of  the  loyal  members,  was  defeated. 
The    resolution    provided    that    the    Mayor,    Council,    and 
police  of  St.  Louis  should  be  placed  under  the  entire  con- 
trol of  the  Governor,  thus  disfranchising  the  city,  and  pre- 
paring the  way  for  crushing  out  its  loyalty,  as  subsequent 
events  fully  showed,  although  none  but  the  initiated  were 
aware  of  the  conspiracy  at  the  time. 

The  incipient  steps  thus  taken  in  revolution  were  for  the 
time  frustrated ;  yet  the  Legislature  labored  incessantly  to 
arrange  the  military  affairs  of  the  State,  so  as  to  bring  the 
militia  to  the  aid  of  rebellion,  and  thus  deliver  the  State  to 
the  Southern  Confederacy.  Several  important  events  took 
place  from  January  to  the  capture  of  Camp  Jackson,  May 
10th,  a  notice  of  which  will  be  important  to  our  narrative. 

5.  When,    on    December   20th,  South   Carolina   declared 
her  secession  from  the  Union,  she  threw  out  a  blazing  invi- 
tation to  the  people  of  the  slaveholding  States  to  join  her 
in  forming  a  confederacy  of  such  States. 

On  the  30th  of  December,  the  Legislature  of  Missouri 
met  in  regular  session.  Up  to  that  day  no  outward  response 
was  made  to  the  invitation  of  South  Carolina,  although  the 
knowing  ones  were  just  waiting  for  a  favorable  opportunity 
to  unite  with  the  Palmetto  State. 

The  next  day,  January  31st,  the  mouthpiece  of  secession 
in  Missouri  at  that  time,  the  Missouri  Republican,  in  a 


232  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

covert  way,  declared  editorially  that  Missouri  would  follow 
South  Carolina.  The  Republican  declared  that  there  was 
no  great  number  of  persons  in  Missouri  who  desired  seces- 
sion. But  should  the  grievances  of  the  South  not  be  re- 
dressed, they  would  be  justified  in  taking  such  steps  as 
would  secure  the  cooperation  of  the  slave  States,  in  some 
definite  plan, of  action,  and  then  in  carrying  out  resolutely 
what  was  agreed  upon.  And  should  not  the  grievances  of 
the  South  be  redressed  before  March  4,  1861,  it  would  be 
necessary  "  then  to  declare  a  separation  from  the  United 
States."  He  further  states,  that  in  case  the  grievances  of 
the  South  were  not  redressed,  "  the  fifteen  States  would  be 
justified  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  IN  DECLARING  SEPARA- 
TION FOREVER." 

6.  On  the  4th   of  January,  1861,  Claiborne  F.  Jackson 
was  installed  Governor,  and   in  his  inaugural   address,  ut- 
tered the  following  disloyal   sentiments:    "The  destiny  of 
the  slaveholding  States  of  this  Union  is  one  and  the  same. 
So  long  as  a  State  continues  to  maintain  slavery  within  her 
limits,  it  is  impossible  to  separate  her  fate  from  that  of  her 
sister  States,  who  have  the  same  social  organization."     He 
then  argued  that  Missouri  would  stand  by  the  South. 

7.  January  21st,  the  Legislature  provided  for  calling  a 
convention,  its  members  to  be  elected  February  18th,  and 
to   convene   February   28th.     But  in  the  mean  time,  by  a 
seditious  and   treacherous   Governor,    Lieutenant-Governor, 
and    Legislature,   schemes    which    led  to    outward    treason 
were  carried  on  in  secret. 

The  Convention  met  in  Jefferson  City,  February  28th,  and 
adjourned  to  meet  in  St.  Louis,  March  4th.  Mr.  Glenn,  a 
delegate  from  Georgia,  appeared  before  the  Convention,  read 
the  articles  of  secession  adopted  by  Georgia,  and  urged 
Missouri  to  follow  the  example.  But  the  Convention  de- 
clined to  follow  Georgia,  and  declared  against  secession. 


EVENTS  IN  MISSOURI.  233 

March  27th,  the  Legislature  passed  the  following  joint 
resolution,  by  a  vote  of  62  to  42 : 

"  Resolved,  That  it  is  inexpedient  for  the  General  Assem- 
bly to  take  any  steps  for  a  National  Convention  to  propose 
any  amendments  to  the  Constitution,  as  recommended  by 
the  State  Convention." 

8.  On  the  14th  of  April  Fort  Sumter  was  taken.     This 
event  the  conspirators  in  Missouri  regarded  as  an  important 
signal  to  carry  on  their  dark  designs  .with  caution.     And 
yet  it  was  viewed  as   ominous   of  the  success  that  would 
crown  their  clandestine   schemes  when   the  day  for  action 
came. 

9.  That   ttfe   conspirators   in   Missouri   were   proceeding 
with  their  designs  of  open  rebellion  vigorously,  and  as  soon 
as  possible,  there  is  ample  proof  from  their  private  corre- 
spondence that  came  to  light  afterward.     On  the  15th  of 
April,  1861,  General  D.  M.  Frost  wrote  an  elaborate  letter 
to  Governor  Jackson,  suggesting  various  expedients  for  ma- 
turing the  movement.     Among  these  we  name   the  follow- 
ing:   1.  To  call  the  Legislature  together  in  order  to  gain 
their   cooperation.     2.  To   send  an  agent  to  the  Governor 
of  Louisiana,  in  order  to  obtain  arms  from  Baton  Rouge. 
3.    To   send   an   agent  to   Liberty,  in  order  to  arrange  for 
seizing  the  armory  there.     Several  other  items  of  like-  sort 
were  contained  in  this  letter.     Such  was  the  programme  of 
General  Frost,  who  had    taken   the  oath  to  accomplish  the 
work  of  taking  Missouri  out  of  the  Union. 

When  President  Lincoln  called  on  the  several  governors, 
April  15th,  for  aid  to  suppress  the  rebellion,  Governor  Jack- 
son replied  :  "  Your  requisition  is  illegal,  unconstitutional, 
and  revolutionary  in  its  object,  inhuman  and  diabolical,  and 
can  not  be  complied  with.  Not  one  man  will  the  State  of 
Missouri  furnish  to  carry  on  any  such  unholy  crusade." 

April  28th,  1861,  Governor  Jackson  wrote  to  J.  W. 
20 


234  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Tucker,  the  editor  of  a  secession  paper  in  St.  Louis :  "  I  do 
not  think  Missouri  should  secede  to-day  or  to-morrow,  but 
I  do  not  think  it  good  policy  that  I  should  so  openly  de- 
clare. I  want  a  little  time  to  arm  the  State,  and  I  am 
assuming  every  responsibility  to  do  it  with  all  possible  dis- 
patch." Again  he  says  :  "  We  should  keep  our  own  coun- 
sels. Every  body  in  the  State  is  in  favor  of  arming  the 
State ;  then  let  it  be  done.  All  are  opposed  to  furnishing 
Mr.  Lincoln  with  soldiers.  Time  will  settle  the  balance. 
Nothing  should  be  said  about  the  time  that  Missouri  should 
go  out.  That  she  ought  to  go,  and  will  go,  at  the  proper 
time,  I  have  no  doubt.  She  ought  to  have  gone  last  Win- 
ter, when  she  could  have  seized  the  public  arms  and  pub- 
lic property  and  defended  herself." 

The  Lieutenant-Governor,  Thomas  C.  Reynolds,  went  to 
Arkansas  and  other  Southern  States,  in  order  to  secure  aid 
in  taking  Missouri  out  of  the  Union. 

Here  we  have  the  fixed  determination  of  the  Governor  to 
take  his  State  out  of  the  Union.  His  correspondence,  above 
recited,  occurred  at  a  time  when  there  was  no  interference 
by  soldiers  of  the  United  States  with  any  of  the  citizens, 
or  with  the  peace  of  the  State.  Thus,  before  the  taking 
of  Camp  Jackson,  May  10th,  a  plot  was  secretly  laid  and 
maturing  for  the  secession  of  Missouri. 

10.  Governor  Jackson  and  his  fellow-conspirators  so  ar 
ranged  matters  that,  April  20th,  the  Arsenal  at  Liberty, 
Missouri,  was  seized  and  garrisoned  by  one  hundred  men. 
The  arms  and  cannon  were  distributed  in  the  county.  Yet 
the  Governor  declared  that  his  policy  was  in  favor  of  peace, 
and  that  he  convened  the  Legislature  for  the  purpose  of  or- 
ganizing the  militia,  and  putting  the  State  in  a  proper  atti- 
tude for  defense.  In  short,  the  entire  course  of  Governor 
Jackson,  from  his  inauguration,  was  designed  to  identify 
Missouri  with  the  Southern  Confederacy. 


EVENTS  IN  MISSOURI.  235 

11.  On    the   20th   of  April   the   Massachusetts   soldiers 
were  massacred  in  the  streets  of  Baltimore.     On  this  the 
Republican  of  St.  Louis,  then   in    the  service  of  the  con- 
spirators, remarks,  under  the  heading,  "Keep  Cool:" 

"  The  time  has  now  come  for  Missouri  to  take  sides  on  an 
issue  about  which  she  has  never  been  consulted,  and  in 
which  she  has  no  direct  interest.  All  the  border  States 
agree  in  this,  that  no  hostile  army  shall  march  over  their 
territory  to  engage  in  war.  The  border  States  will  meet  in 
convention  next  month,  and  such  measures  may  come  up  as 
will  restore  peace.  It  is  worth  a  trial,  and  we  counsel  the 
people  of  this  State,  while  preparing  for  the  worst,  to  take 
no  steps  which  would  interfere  with  so  desirable  a  result. 
We  are  in  no  condition  to  go  to  war."  Such  was  the  ut- 
terance of  the  Republican,  the  adviser  of  the  rebel  Jack- 
son and  his  intimate  associate  in  the  work  of  the  incipient 
rebellion  in  Missouri. 

12.  According  to  the  hint  of  the  Republican,  Governor 
Jackson  issued,  April  22d,  his  order  for  arming  and  drilling 
the  State  forces. 

At  this  time  there  was  much  alarm  for  the  safety  of  the 
Arsenal  at  St.  Louis.  There  was  only  a  small  garrison  in 
it,  under  the  brave,  patriotic  Lyon;  while  the  "minute- 
men,"  a  body  of  traitors  under  the  special  care  of  the 
Republican  and  the  Governor,  were  secretly  drilling  in  their 
quarters,  and  even  displaying  their  rebel  flag  at  the  corner 
of  Fifth  and  Pine  streets.  Their  design  to  seize  the  Arse- 
nal was  openly  avowed  in  the  streets.  This  was  also  de- 
clared iu,  private  letters,  which  subsequently  saw  the  light. 
Yet  the  Republican  said,  April  24th :  "  There  never  has 
been,  so  far  as  we  can  find  out,  any  concerted  plan  to  take 
the  St.  Louis  Arsenal.  The  public  are  opposed  to  such  a 
course,  at  least  as  long  as  Missouri  remains  in  the  Union." 

On    the    25th    the   Republican    declared:    "We   do   not 


236  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

believe  that  any  step  should  be  taken  now,  which  admits  of 
secession,  or  the  possibility  of  any  ultimate  connection  with 
the  North  on  any  terms.  The  defenseless  condition  of  the 
State,  without  an  organized  military  force,  without  arms, 
ammunition,  artillery,  or  a  solitary  appliance  of  war,  con- 
stitutes the  best  ground  for  neutrality."  On  the  29th  of 
April  the  same  paper  declared  that,  whether  the  people  be 
in  favor  of  "neutrality  or  secession,  all  will  agree  that 
Missouri  should  arm  herself,  and  be  prepared  for  all  con- 
tingencies of  a  turbulent  future."  Thus  the-  Republican 
played  the  part  of  right-hand  hired  lackey  to  the  traitorous 
Executive  in  the  work  of  promoting  public  treachery  and 
revolt. 

13.  The  theme  of  arming  the  State  was  dwelt  upon  and 
urged  daily  by  the  Missouri  Republican.  An  extra  session 
of  the  Legislature  was  called  for  this  purpose.  Governor 
Jackson,  in  his  message,  says : 

"The  great  and  patriotic  State  of  Virginia,  after  having 
failed  in  all  her  efforts  to  readjust  the  Union,  has  at  last 
yielded  in  despair,  and  has  seceded  from  the  old  Federal 
Union.  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  and  Arkansas,  it  is 
believed,  will  rapidly  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  Virginia, 
and  Kentucky  is  profoundly  moved  on  this  great  question. 
Our^  interests  and  sympathies  are  identical  with  those  of 
the  slaveholding  States,  and  necessarily  unite  our  destinies 
with  thenu.  .  .  In  the  mean  time,  in  my  judgment,  it  is 
indispensable  to  our  safety  that  we  should  emulate  the 
policy  of  all  the  other  States  in  arming  our  people  and 
placing  our  State  in  a  proper  attitude  of  defense." 

The  Legislature  provided  for  arming  the  State,  robbing 
the  School  Fund  and  the  Lunatic  Asylum  for  that  purpose; 
and  in  order  to  seize  the  Arsenal,  the  Governor  directed  the 
formation  of  a  camp  at  St.  Louis  for  military  instruction, 
for  the  county  and  adjoining  counties. 


EVENTS  IN  MISSOURI.  237 

This  camp,  named  Camp  Jackson,  was  formed  May  1st. 
The  minute-men  formed  part  of  it.  The  streets  of  the 
camp  were  named  after  Jeff.  Davis,  Beauregard,  and  other 
rebel  leaders;  and  one  of  the  publishers  of  the  Republican 
was  an  officer  in  that  camp.  On  the  8th  of  May,  by  nigK£, 
a  portion  of  the  cannon,  and  other  arms,  stolen  from  Baton 
Rouge,  was  secretly  conveyed  to  the  camp  of  the  State 
troops,  as  they  were  called.  And  this  was  done  by  the 
secret  agent  of  Governor  Jackson. 

14.  The  minute-men  of  St.  Louis  were  an  organized 
body  who,  from  the  beginning  of  1861,  had  their  head- 
quarters at  the  corner  of  Fifth  and  Pine  streets,  opposite 
the  Southern  Methodist  Book-Room.  They  had  their  rebel 
flag  hoisted  from  early  in  January  to  May  15th,  when 
General  Harney  ordered  it  to  be  taken  down.  The  roll  of 
the  minute-men,  seized  by  General  Farrar,  a  year  after, 
contains  the  following  principles: 

"1.  That  if  any  State  or  States  of  this  Union,  aggrieved 
by  the  hostile  and  unconstitutional  acts  of  the  Black  Repub- 
lican party,  shall  exercise  the  right  to  secede  from  the 
present  Confederacy,  and  the  Federal  Government  shall 
thereupon  attempt  to  coerce  such  State  or  States  back  into 
the  Union,  Missouri  ought  to  resist  such  attempt,  by  arms, 
if  need  be. 

"2.  That  on  the  event  of  a  disruption  of  this  Union,  the- 
honor  and  safety  of  Missouri  impel  her  to  espouse  the 
cause  of  the  Southern  States,  and  in  such  case,  we  should 
endeavor  to  unite  the  slaveholding  States  in  one  Confed- 
eracy." 

To  this  "basis  of  principles"  two  hundred  and  seven 
names  of  citizens  of  St.  Louis  were  subscribed.  This  asso- 
ciation seems  to  have  been  formed  on  or  before  the  election 
of  Lincoln.  The  basis  showed  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  or- 
ganization existed  before  the  actual  secession  of  a  single  State. 


238  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

15.  Let  us  now  recapitulate  the  movements  of  the  rebels 
as  it  concerns  Missouri,  previous  to  the  taking  of  Camp 
Jackson,  May  10th. 

It  is  now  a  matter  of  history,  that  secession  was  openly 
threatened  before  the  election  of  Lincoln,  should  this  take 
place.  As  soon  as  the  election  was  over,  a  determination 
to  secede  became  general  in  the  South.  Before  the  actual 
secession  took  place,  the  minute-men  of  St.  Louis  encour- 
aged and  promoted  its  development,  were  foremost  to  hail 
its  birth,  and  to  the  last  they  were  its  supporters,  in  full 
communion  with  Governor  Jackson.  The  Southern  States 
advanced  rapidly  to  open  hostility.  In  January,  1861, 
the  Arsenal  at  St.  Louis  was  to  be  taken,  the  Sub-Treasury 
was  to  be  robbed,  the  civil  and  municipal  powers  of  the 
Mayor  and  Council  of  St.  Louis  were  to  be  transferred  to 
the  recreant  Governor.  The  militia  was  to  be  organized  to 
aid  the  rebellion,  under  the  plea  of  protecting  the  State 
from  invasion. 

On  January  4th,  Jackson,  as  Governor,  declared  the 
destiny  of  Missouri  identical  with  that  of  the  slaveholding 
States,  revolted  or  about  to  revolt.  The  State  Convention 
in  February  opposed  secession.  The  Legislature,  March 
27th,  in  indirect  terms,  disapproved  the  taking  of  any  steps 
favoring  the  National  Convention  recommended  by  the  State 
Convention.  April  14th,  Sumter  was  taken.  On  the  15th 
of  April  Frost  wrote  his  treasonable  letter  to  the  Governor, 
laying  down  the  proper  course  to  be  followed  in  taking  the 
State  out  of  the  Union.  To  President  Lincoln's  call  for 
troops,  April  15th,  it  was  replied  promptly  that  neither 
men  nor  means  could  be  furnished  to  preserve  the  Union.  At 
the  same  time,  all  possible  aid  was  given  the  enemies  of  the 
Union.  April  28th,  Governor  Jackson's  letter  to  the  conspir- 
ator Tucker  added  another  link  to  the  qhain  of  rebellion. 
The  Arsenal  at  Liberty  was  seized  by  the  executive,  and  his 


EVENTS  IN  MISSOURI.  239 

men  were  substituted  for  the  garrison  of  United  States 
troops.  When  the  Massachusetts  troops  were  assailed  in 
Baltimore,  April  20th,  the  Governor  exulted,  and  concluded 
it  was  about  time  for  Missouri  to  espouse  the  "Confeder- 
acy." The  order  for  arming  the  militia  was  issued,  and 
the  camp  established  at  St.  Louis,  May  1st.  Thus,  the 
magazine  of  revolution  was  ready  for  the  match. 

16.  In  connection  with  the  foregoing,  the  religious  press 
of  the   South,   especially   that   of  the   Southern   Methodist 
Church,  was,  as  a  unit,  favoring   and   aiding  the   work  of 
rebellion.     The  Southern  Churches,  the  Quakers  alone  ex- 
cepted, were  one  in  effort  with  the  leading  politicians.     In 
Missouri,  the  majorities  of  all  the  Churches,  the  Methodist 
Episcopal   Church    excepted,    were   in    full   agreement   and 
cooperation  with  the  rebel  Governor. 

The  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate,  the  organ  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  in  St.  Louis,  edited  by 
Dr.  M'Anally,  was,  in  every  respect,  the  promoter  of  re- 
bellion, and  in  consequence,  he  was  the  bosom  ally  of  Mr. 
Tucker,  editor  of  that  rebel  sheet,  the  Missouri  State  Jour- 
nal, subsequently  suppressed  as  an  open  foe  to  the  Union, 
and  a  supporter  of  the  Southern  rebellion.  Indeed,  Mr. 
Tucker,  in  1864,  in  a  letter  published  in  the  South,  praises 
Mr.  M'Anally  as  a  true  man — using  the  term  true  in  the 
sense  of  being  faithful  on  the  side  of  rebellion. 

Thus,  in  Missouri,  the  weight  of  the  religious  element 
was  in  federation  with  the  conspirators,  the  small  number 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  alone  excepted,  which 
had  to  bear  the  whole  weight  of  the  opposition  and  perse- 
cution of  all  rebels  and  sympathizers  with  treason. 

17.  This  leads  us  to  the  consideration  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  South-West.     The  original  princi- 
ples, still  retained,  comprised  a  decided  protest  against  buy- 
ing or  selling  human  beings,  to  be  retained  as  slaves.     Not 


240  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

only  so,  but  its  uniform,  unrepealed  moral  creed  considered 
slavery  a  great  moral  evil,  deserving  to  be  extirpated  or 
rooted  up. 

Furthermore,  the  Church,  first  and  last,  irnpliedly  vows 
to  use  all  lawful  means  for  its  extirpation,  at  the  same  time 
exercising  the  most  loyal  submission  to  the  Government  of 
the  country.  This  avowal,  and  the  course  pursued  in  con- 
sequence, never  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  land.  But  a 
class  of  Methodists  and  others  arose,  who,  practically  de- 
nying the  freedom  of  speech  and  opinion,  even  lawfully  ex- 
ercised, denounced  most  bitterly  the  above-named  principles 
and  their  just  and  dispassionate  practice. 

This  heathenish  and  impassioned  illiberality  became  abu- 
sive, and  awakened  fever  and  excitement  in  communities, 
grew  into  persecution  and  bloody  violence,  and  rocked  and 
convulsed  commonwealths,  matured  into  treason  against  law 
that  would  not  prostitute  at  its  will,  and  so  finally  involved 
the  Union  in  te/rible  war,  covering  the  land  with  slaughter 
and  flame.  During  this  course  of  events — to  be  a  member 
or  minister  of  the  old  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  the 
South -West,  was  to  deserve,  in  the  popular  esteem,  banish- 
ment from  the  country,  if  not,  indeed,  hanging  at  midnight, 
by  "a  jury  of  three  hundred,"  "without  benefit  of  clergy." 
Of  this  we  have  given  sufficient  proofs  already. 

That  the  foregoing  is  no  exaggeration  of  the  wildness  of 
the  pro-slavery  men,  we  here  present  an  extract  from  an  ar- 
ticle in  the  Washita  Conference  Journal  of  February  16th, 
by  W.  C.  Hazlip,  dated  Monticello,  Ark.,  January  18th,  and 
quoted  in  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  February  17th. 
Mr.  Hazlip  says,  in  proving  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  South  is  a  pro-slavery  Church,  "The  Latin  prefix 
pro,  means  for  or  in  favor  of  slavery.  The  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  South  stands  on  the  Bible  platform,  for  it  is 
straight  out  in  favor  of  slavery.  .  .  .  The  Hamite 


EVENTS  IN  MISSOURI.  241 

bondage  or  slavery  is  one  of  the  important  doctrines  of 
Christianity,  and  taught  in  the  Bible.  .  .  .  Without  it 
Christianity  would  prove  a  failure." 

The  editor  of  the  Journal  comments  on  the  foregoing, 
and  among  other  wild  things  utters  the  following :  "  The 
Methodist,  and  other  Northern  religious  papers  are  saturat- 
ing the  religious  mind  with  the  fatal,  wicked  theories  of 
abolitionism,  that  spasm  of  Satanic  fanaticism.  .  .  .  We 
do  pray  God,  and  shall  pray  God,  in  mercy,  to  deliver  them 
from  these  doctrines  of  devils.  .  .  .  Dear  brethren,  the 
devil  has  beclouded  you.  .  .  .  You  are  wrong,  as  the 
Lord  liveth,  you  are  wrong.  .  .  .  Proclaim  a  solemn 
fast,  and  pray  over  your  past  course.  .  .  .  That  is  what 
the  Church  wants.  Is  it  not  so,  Dr.  Elliott,  Drs.  Crooks, 
Stevens,  and  Thomson  ?  is  it  not  so  ?"  * 

Before  the  secession  of  Southern  Methodists,  their  princi- 
ples were  those  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  After 
this  they  avowed  they  were  neither  pro-slavery  nor  anti- 
slavery.  Subsequently  they  proclaim  themselves  pro-slav- 
ery. Then  they  struck  from  their  Discipline  the  antislavery 
chapter.  Finally,  they  erased  the  old  antislavery  General 
Rule.  Thus  they  prepared  the  'way,  by  foul  apostasy,  for 
raising  their  arms  against  the  Government  of  the  country. 

For  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  February  27, 1861, 
we  wrote  the  following  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  having  had 
full  knowledge  of  what  we  said: 

"  A  strong  secession  element  of  as  dark  a  type  as  that  in 
the  worst  cotton  States  exists  in  Missouri.  About  the  first 
week  in  January,  strong  indications  existed  that  an  attempt 
would  be  made  to  seize  the  Sub-Treasury  of  this  city,  and 
the  arms.  But  the  appearance  of  the  United  States  mili- 
tary on  the  7th  of  January,  guarding  the  United  States 
property,  prevented  this  act  of  rebellion.  The  bill  of  Mr. 

1  See  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  February,  18G1,  p.  34. 
21 


242  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Johnson,  in  the  Senate,  on  Saturday,  5th  of  January,  which 
would  transfer  the  power  of  the  Mayor  of  St.  Louis  to  the 
Governor,  was  a  manifest  act  of  treason  to  the  State  of 
Missouri,  and  to  the  United  Spates. 

"  Then  the  military  bill  was  a  part  of  the  same  scheme, 
by  which  the  State  should  be  placed  under  a  military  con- 
trol, worse  than  ever  existed  before  in  the  world,  and  all 
the  civil  rights  of  the  citizens  and  the  control  of  the  Courts 
put  under  the  arbitrary  sway  of  military,  ignorant,  blood- 
thirsty, upstart  officers,  who  know  little  and  care  less  for  the 
great  moral  and  political  principles  that  underlie  just  civil 
government.  The  moral  protest  of  the  public,  and  the 
noble  band  of  good  men  in  the  House,  alone  prevented  the 
execution  of  this  Catiliniau  conspiracy  against  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  State  and  of  the  United  States.  And  to  crown 
all  the  attempted  joint  resolution  of  Saturday,  16th  of  Feb- 
ruary, passed  in  the  Senate,  by  eighteen  for  and  four  against, 
by  which,  on  the  18th,  the  elections  in  St.  Louis  should  be 
frustrated  by  the  armed  force  under  the  control  of  a  revo- 
lutionary Governor,  put  a  climax  on  the  treasonable  spirit 
of  a  band  of  ultra  secessionists,  who  manifested  a  reckless- 
ness unknown  to  Keitt  and  Yancey,  and  the  infuriated  fire- 
eaters  of  the  far  South.  Through  the  good  providence  of 
God,  these  morally  insane  men  were  prevented  from  making 
our  streets  run  with  blood  on  Monday,  18th  of  February, 
the  election  day.  Had  the  plan  of  the  Governor  and  Senate 
carried,  supported  by  the  Republican  of  this  city,  election 
day  would  have  been  a  day  of  blood.  Of  this  we  have  no 
doubt,  and  proof  enough  could  be  adduced  of  this  result 
were  it  necessary ;  but  we  forbear.  Thus,  through  the  good 
hand  of  God  on  us,  the  civil  war,  in  its  bloody  character, 
did  not  commence  with  St.  Louis." 

Secession  in  Church  and  State  are  very  much  alike.  That 
in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  without  cause, 


EVENTS  IN  MISSOURI.  243 

except  that  of  the  pro-slavery  element  in  the  South.  Cal- 
houu,  Webster,  and  Clay  so  declared.  They  spoke  as  mere 
politicians,  considering  unity  better  than  purity.  Had  the 
Southern  Methodists  been  retained  in  our  Church  with  their 
pro-slavery  principles,  though  but  recently  adopted,  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  would  not  have  been  the  great 
barrier  to  secession  in  the  State  it  has  proved  to  be,  during 
the  war. 

18.  We  may  here  mention  that  the  Missouri  Conference 
which  was  to  meet  at  Jefferson  City,  changed  its  sitting  to 
St.  Louis.     The   reasons  were  these:   the  State  Convention 
was  then    in  session  at  the   capital ;    our  Church  members 
were  few  at  best,  but  now  were  much  diminished  in  num- 
bers.    Therefore  it  was  concluded  best  to  have  the  session 
in    St.    Louis.     The    Conference   met,   March   7th,    Bishop 
Morris  presiding. 

19.  In  the  Sprjng  of  1861  the  affairs  of  Missouri  were 
such  that  we  considered  it  our  duty  to  advise  the  General 
Government  of  them.     We  had  abundant  reason  to  believe 
there  was  much  studied  concealment  of  the  plans  and  cal- 
culations of  the  secessionists  in  the  State.     With  this  con- 
viction we  wrote  the  two  following  letters,  the  one  to  Mr. 
Chase,  and  the  other  to  Mr.  Cameron : 

(copy.) 

ST.  Louis,  Mo.,  April  17,  1861. 
HON.  S.  P.  CHASE,  SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  thank  you  for  your  kind  attention  to 
my  few  lines  about  Indian  agents. 

I  inclose  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  which  you 
will  please  read  and  transfer  to  him.  We,  here,  are  on  the 
eve  of  a  revolution  indeed,  and  much  bloodshed,  unless 
the  General  Government  will  take  the  Union  men  of  Mis- 
souri under  its  protection.  I  have  recently  visited  Kansas. 
There  are  now  1,000  men  in  Southern  Kansas,  refugees 


244  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

from  Texas  and  Arkansas,  whose  friends  have  been  mur- 
dered, and  they  themselves  expatriated.  Kansas  will  fight 
to  the  death  before  Missouri  enters  the  Southern  Confed- 
eracy, and  thus  shuts  up  their  thoroughfares  to  the  free 
States  east  of  the  Missouri.  I  deemed  it  my  duty  to  write 
as  I  did,  as  a  loyal  citizen.  I  have  never  troubled  our 
statesmen  for  any  office  for  any  one.  Remember  me  to  my 
esteemed  friend,  Mr.  Whittlesey.  I  take  great  liberties 
with  you.  I  do  it  for  the  sake  of  the  best  of  governments. 
Yours,  CHARLES  ELLIOTT. 

(COPY.) 

ST.  Louis,  Mo.,  April  17,  1861. 
To  THE  HON.  SIMON  CAMERON,  SECRETARY  OF  WAR. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  beg  to  call  your  attention  to  a  few  facts, 
and  offer  some  suggestions  on  the  crisis  approaching  in 
Missouri.  We  have  an  avowed  secessionist  as  Governor. 
"We  have  a  Legislature  largely  of  secessionists  too.  There 
is  a  formidable  military  organization — the  minute-men — 
here,  numbering  now  some  2,<800,  besides  those  who  have 
as  a  cloak  been  taken  iuto  the  service  of  the  State,  but  who 
still  are  at  the  call  of  the  Missouri  executive  for  any  trea- 
sonable purpose.  These  men  are  a  standing  menace  upon 
the  Union  men  in  the  city  and  in  the  State,  and  the  re- 
peated insults  to  them  and  the  late  city  government,  by 
hoisting  the  secession  flag  at  their  head-quarters,  tend  to 
produce  disorder  and  bloodshed. 

It  is  a  common  belief  that  an  overt  act  of  aggression  and 
resistance  to  Federal  authority  will  soon  be  attempted,  such 
as  the  seizure  of  the  Arsenal  and  the  Sub-Treasury,  if  there 
be  no  resistance.  As  the  Governor  of  Missouri  will  not 
respect  the  call  of  the  President  for  troops,  let  me  suggest 
the  enrollment  of  all  Union  men  in  the  city,  and  perhaps 
elsewhere  in  the  State. 

There   is   no    more   loyal   people  in  the  Union  than  the 


EVENTS  IN  MISSOURI.  245 

members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  I  say  noth- 
ing of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South.  In  the 
State  of  Missouri  there  are  now  some  10,000  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  who  are  exposed  to  eccle- 
siastical and  political  hostility,  and  who,  were  the  State  to 
be  forced  out  of  the  Union,  would  be  persecuted  even  unto 
death,  confiscation,  or  banishment.  There  are  now  nearly 
a  million  of  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
who  have  a  strong  sympathy  for  their  brethren  of  Missouri, 
and  have  spent  $20,000  in  sustaining  their  paper,  of  which 
I  have  been  editor  since  last  June.  The  Methodists  of  the 
free  States,  as  citizens,  will  remain,  to  the  last,  sustainers 
of  their  brethren  in  Missouri,  who  have  already  been  dealt 
with  so  rudely  by  secessionists. 

As  many  as  5,000  sound  Union  men,  they  say,  are  in  St. 
Louis — Americans,  Germans,  English,  Irish,  of  all  denom- 
inations and  politics — and  are  ready  to  enroll  themselves  in 
a  home  corps.  And  if  this  movement  be  inaugurated  and 
supported  by  the  Federal  executive,  a  strong  body  of  Union 
men  can  be  organized.  The  same  will  hold  good  of  other 
places  in  Missouri. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  this  body  of  Union  men 
can  not  be  raised  except  by  the  Federal  Government.  The 
military  bill  of  the  last  Missouri  Legislature  takes  away 
from  the  people  the  power  of  organizing  for  self-defense, 
except  under  the  sanction  of  the  State,  or  as  State  militia. 
The  question  shortly  to  be  determined  in  the  South-West 
may  be,  Shall  Memphis  or  St.  Louis  be  head-quarters  of 
the  revolted  States?  Immediate  measures  I  am  persuaded 
are  necessary  to  check  the  evil.  I  am  a  stranger  to  you; 
but  I  will  introduce  myself,  and  refer  you  to  my  friends 
Secretary  Chase  and  Controller  Whittlesey  for  information. 
I  am  an  itinerant  preacher  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  have  served  for  forty-three  years  in  the  West. 


246  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

For  almost  twenty  years  I  have  been  principal  editor  of 
this  Church  in  Pittsburg  and  Cincinnati ;  and  since  last 
May,  in  St.  Louis,  where  I  was  placed  by  our  General 
Conference  in  last  May,  in  order  to  sustain  their  press  in 
the  South-West.  I  am  now  in  my  sixty-ninth  year.  I  will 
enroll  myself  in  the  Union  company,  as  I  want  to  die  un- 
der the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  never  succumb  to  a  foreign 
flag,  especially  the  rebel  Palmetto  one.  Let  me  add,  that 
unless  the  General  Government  will  sustain  the  Union  men 
of  Missouri,  Kansas,  and  Iowa,  and  Illinois  will  come  to 
the  rescue.  I  have  performed  what  I  deemed  a  duty  in 
writing  thus. 

Your  obedient  servant,  CHARLES  ELLIOTT, 

Editor  Central  Christian  Advocate. 


CAPTURE  OF  CAMP  JACKSON.  247 


CHAPTER   XII. 

CAPTURE  OF  CAMP  JACKSON. 

1.  A  BRIEF  resurvey  of  Missouri  affairs  will  naturally 
preface  our  consideration  of  the  capture  of  Camp  Jackson. 

The  Governor  was  a  secessionist  of  the  deepest  dye,  and 
in  close  alliance  with  the  Southern  Confederacy.  The  At- 
lanta Commonwealth,  of  May  3d,  says :  "  A  messenger  of 
Governor  Jackson,  of  Missouri,  to  President  Davis,  of  Mont- 
gomery, passed  through  Atlanta  this  forenoon,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  soliciting  aid  in  taking  the  Arsenal  at  St.  Louis." 
The  same  paper  said,  "  Cannon,  from  Fort  Sumter,  passed 
through  Atlajita,  to-day,  on  their  way  to  Menjphis,  Tenn. 
Final  destination  not  known  to  us."  These  cannon,  as  after 
events  showed,  were  for  the  rebel  army  to  be  raised  by 
Governor  Jackson.  The  Legislature,  with  the  Executive  at 
their  head,  were  earnestly  laboring  to  bind  the  State  to  the 
South.  On  the  8th  of  May,  a  resolution  of  both  Houses 
suspended  the  appropriation  bill  for  the  schools,  and  appro- 
priated the  funds  to  arm  troops  for  rebellion.  The  money 
to  pay  the  interest  on  the  State  debt  was  also -appropriated 
in  the  same  way.  Large  reinforcements  of  men  and  means 
were  expected  from  Arkansas  and  Tennessee.  The  military 
organizations  of  the  State,  under  the  new  bill,  were  to  en- 
camp in  four  different  places,  in  order  to  resist  the  General 
Government.  The  force  just  west  of  St.  Louis  was  to  be 
enlarged  sufficiently  to  seize  the  Arsenal  and  crush  out  the 
Union  men  of  the  city.  The  secessionists  were  harassing 


248  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

and  driving  the  loyalists  out  of  the  State,  and  thus  weak- 
ening the  power  of  the  Union  cause. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  body  of  the  people  were  for  the 
Union.  The  Kansans  were  on  the  west,  the  Union  men  of 
Iowa  on  the  north,  and  Illinois  on  the  east.  To  these  must 
be  added  the  resources  of  the  great  North-West,  as  well  as 
those  of  the  General  Government.  The  Germans,  too,  in 
Missouri,  were,  as  a  body,  true  to  the  United  States.  But 
the  best  of  all  was,  that  God,  justice,  liberty,  and  the  Bible 
were  for  the  Union. 

2.  The  capture  of  Camp  Jackson  took  place  Friday,  May 
10,  1861.  Captain  Lyon  commanding  at  the  Arsenal  in 
St.  Louis,  under  instructions,  moved  with  about  five  thousand 
men  in  four  columns  toward  the  camp.  On  his  arrival  he 
demanded  an  unconditional  surrender  from  General  Frost, 
who  had  about  one  thousand,  one  hundred  well-armed  men 
in  the  garrison. 

General  Frost,  after  a  hurried  consultation,  surrendered. 
The  march  ^from  the  camp  was  attended  with  an  assault  by 
secessionists.  As  Lyon's  soldiers  filed  out  to  Olive-street, 
the  secessionists  threw  stones,  brickbats,  etc.,  at  them,  and 
several  pistols  were  discharged  by  the  mob,  killing  some, 
and  wounding  others,  among  them  a  Captain,  who,  when  he 
was  wounded  in  the  leg,  gave  orders  to  fire.  Some  six 
shots  were  fired.  How  many  were  killed  by  this  fire  is  not 
known. 

The  second  and  most  destructive  fire  was  from  the  rear 
of  the  column  guarding  the  prisoners.  The  secession  mob 
was  very  abusive,  and  one  of  them,  when  expostulated  with, 
drew  his  revolver  and  fired  at  Lieutenant  Saxton,  of  the 
regular  army,  three  times,  the  secessionists  cheering  him, 
and  many  of  them  drawing  their  revolvers  and  firing  on  the 
United  States  troops.  The  man  who  fired"  the  first  shot, 
while  taking  aim  anew  at  Lieutenant  Saxton,  was  thrust 


CAPTURE  OF  CAMP  JACKSON.          249 

through  with  a  bayonet,  and  fired  on  at  the  same  time, 
being  instantly  killed.  The  mob  still  persisted  in  their 
attack,  and  several  of  the  soldiers  were  shot,  when  they 
halted  and  fired  with  fatal  effect.  The  mob  in  retreating 
from  both  sides  of  the  line,  returned  the  fire,  and  the  troops 
replied  again.  Captain  Lyon  then  ordered  his  men  to 
cease  firing,  and  the  order  was  obeyed  as  rapidly  as  it  could 
be  passed  along  the  line. 

Mr.  Lyon  makes  the  following  observation  on  the  subject 
in  his  official  report : 

"  The  sad  results  are  much  to  be  lamented.  The  killing 
of  innocent  men,  women,  and  children  is  deplorable.  There 
was  no  intention  to  fire  upon  peaceable  citizens.  The  regu- 
lar troops  were  over  in  the  camp,  beyond  the  mob,  and  in 
range  of  the  firing.  The  troops  manifested  every  forbear- 
ance, and  at  last  discharged  their  guns,  simply  obeying  the 
impulse  natural  to  us  all,  of  self-defense.  If  innocent  men, 
women,  and  children,  whose  curiosity  placed  them  in  a 
dangerous  position,  suffered  with  the  guilty,  it  is  no  fault 
.of  the  troops." 

Some  twenty-two  were  killed,  four  mortally  wounded,  and 
many  wounded  slightly.  This  result  is  largely  to  be  at- 
tributed to  the  intense  antipathy  to  the  German  citizens, 
who  came  forward  nobly  to  enroll  themselves  as  home 
guards  and  volunteers,  in  support  of  the  General  Govern- 
ment. To  the  Germans  may  be  attributed,  in  a  great  de- 
gree, the  deliverance  of  the  city  from  a  scene  of  carnage. 
Here  is  an  account,  from  a  contemporary,  of  some  of  the 
provocations : 

"Language  is  utterly  unable  to  describe  the  goading,  har- 
rowing, and  outrageous  insults  that  were  heaped,  with  the 
most  diabolical  malice,  upon-  the  United  States  troops,  and 
which,  together  with  the  hurling  of  dirt  and  stones,  was 
long  borne  by  them  with  a  forbearance  which  seemed  like 


250  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

abjectness  itself.  -  Fists  were  shaken  in  their  faces,  they 
were  spit  upon,  caught  hold  of  and  jerked  from  the  ranks, 
and  this  in  addition  to  taunts  most  shameful,  and  abuse  too 
shocking  for  repetition.  The  throwing  of  rocks  was  only  a 
further  step  in  that  desperate  work  of  irritation  which  was 
crowned  by  actually  firing  into  the  troops." 

On  Saturday,  May  llth,  about  1,100  citizens  from  the 
Ninth  and  Tenth  Wards  were  ordered  to  the  Arsenal  to  be 
sworn  in  as  home  guards,  and  to  receive  their  arms.  On 
their  return  in  the  evening,  at  the  corner  of  Fifth  and  Wal- 
nut streets,  as  they  were  turning  up  Walnut-street,  the  rear 
company  was  fired  on  by  a  mob.  An  eye-witness  says,  a  mob 
of  some  two  hundred  occupied  the  steps  and  portico  in  front 
of  the  church  at  the  corner  of  Fifth  and  Walnut  streets, 
and  uttered  jeers  and  bawls  as  the  soldiers  approached. 
The  leader  of  the  mob  fired  a  revolver  in  quick  succession 
at  the  troops,  and  several  of  his  associates  did  the  same. 
Two  of  the  soldiers  fell  dead,  whereupon  the  rear  column 
turned  and  fired  at  the  mob.  This  was  followed  by  more 
or  less  firing  on  both  sides. 

General  Harney,  who  arrived  in  St.  Louis  on  Saturday 
morning,  the  llth,  issued  a  proclamation  on  the  12th,  to 
the  people  of  Missouri,  in  which  he  exhorted  all  to  keep 
the  peace,  and  stated  that  it  MUST  BE  PRESERVED. 

Attempts  were  made,  on  Friday  evening,  to  destroy  the 
office  of  the  Democrat;  but  the  firmness  of  the  police 
force,  and  the  armed  hands  of  the  office,  prevented  this  re- 
sult. The  printers,  publishers,  and  editors,  and  their*  friends 
in  the  buildings,  were  well  armed  to  protect  themselves 
within,  while  the  police  outside  were  faithful  to  their  duty. 

As  to  ourself,  we  happened  to  be  out  of  town  on  this 
occasion,  attending  a  quarterly  meeting  in  Carlinville,  111., 
some  sixty  miles  distant,  by  previous  arrangement  of  sev- 
eral Weeks'  standing.  On  Friday,  10th,  in  the  afternoon,  as 


CAPTURE  OF  CAMP  JACKSON.          251 

^ 

we  were  leaving  our  office,  No.  97  Fourth-street,  to  take 
the  boat  for  Alton  at,  four,  P.  M.,  it  was  said  Lyon  was  out 
with  his  men.  We  did  not  suspect  the  forthcoming  events, 
but  went  to  the  boat,  and  read  the  evening  papers  till  we 
reached  Alton,  about  seven  o'clock.  Then  a  dispatch  gave 
some  information  of  the  occurrence.  Next  morning  the 
papers  of  the  city,  with  full  reports,  reached  us.  We 
proceeded,  however,  to  the  quarterly  meeting,  spent  the 
Sabbath  in  comfort,  and  returned  to  the  city,  Monday,  13th, 
and  found  our  office  all  safe.  Had  we  anticipated  what  was 
to  happen,  we  would  have  remained,  to  watch  our  office, 
however  unavailing  that  might  have  been.  The  Anseiger 
and  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  would,  no  doubt,  have 
shared  the  fate  of  the  Democrat,  had  that  paper  been  de- 
stroyed. We  thanked  God  for  his  protection  over  us,  our 
office  and  cause,  and  went  on,  as  usual,  supporting  the 
Union,  religion,  and  the  morals  of  citizens,  without  let  or 
hinderance. 

The  St.  Louis  Advocate  was  much  exasperated  by  the 
doings  of  the  10th  of  May,  and  defended  the  assault  of  the 
mob  against  the  United  States  Army.  He  calls  the  acts  of 
Lyon's  army  "  the  shooting  down  in  cold  blood  unoffending 
and  defenseless  men,  women,  and  children."  Other  like 
expressions  were  uttered  against  the  army  for  doing  its 
duty.  Similar  language  in  reference  to  this  affair  was 
used  by  other  traitors  as  well  as  by  Dr.  M'Anally. 

3.  On  May  21st,  a  truce  was  agreed  upon  between  Gen- 
eral Harney  and  General  Price,  the  former  of»the  United 
States  Army,  and  the  latter  of  the  State  militia.  The 
agreement  was  that  the  organized  State  or  secession  troops 
should  be  disbanded,  and  that  the  United  States  troops 
should  avoid  any  collision  with  the  State  authorities.  This 
truce,  although  of  good  intent  on  the  part  of  General  Har- 
ney, was  manifestly  a  mere  ruse  on  the  part  of  General 


252  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Price  and  Governor  Jackson,  in  order  to  gain  time  and 
new  advantages.  It  seemed  to  be  a  mere  ambush  at  Jef- 
ferson City  for  extirpating  Unionism  out  of  the  capital  first, 
and  then  out  of  the  State.  The  result  only  proved  the 
whole  to  be  a  mere  feint  in  the  interest  of  treason.  It  was 
only  another  link  in  that  chain  of  conspiracies  first  begun 
to  compass  the  Sub-Treasury  and  Arsenal. 

4.  In  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  May  15,  1861, 
owing  to  the  persecutions  of  our  members  and  preachers, 
and  their  expulsion  in  many  cases  from  the  State,  with  the 
view  among  secessionists  of  weakening  the  Union  cause 
and  strengthening  their  own,  we  wrote  the  following  edi- 
torial, which  we  copy,  as  it  gives  a  just  view  of  the  state 
of  things  as  then  existing : 

"  To  the  ministers  and  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  Missouri: 

"  It  is  known  to  you  that  recently  there  has  been,  and 
now  especially  there  seems  to  be,  a  purpose  and  effort,  on 
the  part  of  many  members  and  preachers  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  South,  especially  by  means  of  mobs  and 
other  expedients,  to  drive  you  out  of  the  State.  Some  of 
our  preachers  have  been  assaulted,  others  warned  to  remain 
at  their  peril.  And  we  find  it  is  deemed  necessary  for  some, 
on  account  of  the  present  distress,  to  suspend  their  regular 
public  exercises.  The  great  disturbances  they  meet  with, 
and  the  small  prospect  of  doing  good,  render  such  a  course 
advisable,  since  the  interferences  are  such  as  to  defeat,  for 
the  present,*  the  ends  of  public  preaching  and  religious  ex- 
ercises. As  the  members  and  ministers  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  South,  generally,  as  far  as  we  can  learn, 
are  warmly  enlisted  on  the  side  of  secession,  and  our  peo- 
ple unanimously  are  decided  for  the  Union,  and  opposed  to 
secession,  the  difficulty  threatens  to  remain  till  the  secession 
element  subsides  or  is  exhausted.  How  soon  that  will  be 


CAPTURE  OF  CAMP  JACKSON.  253 

we  know  not,  although  we  are  fully  persuaded  that  the 
cause  of  the  Union  will  finally  prevail  in  Missouri.  We 
would  this  week,  as  we  did  before,  beseech  all  our  brethren, 
as  far  as  is  safe  and  proper,  to  keep  their  ground.  This 
we  know  will  be  difficult  to  all,  and  even  impossible  to 
some.  Let  even  life  be  sacrificed  sooner  than  surrender 
our  cause ! 

"  But  while  this  suspension  of  public  worship  must  be 
submitted  to  in  many  cases,  we  trust  that  all  our  classes 
and  Churches,  however  small,  will  keep  up  public  worship 
as  far  as  they  can,  though  their  preachers  may  be  driven 
off.  Let  some  one  read  a  sermon,  others  exhort,  and  all 
sing  and  pray.  Where  prayer  and  class  meetings  can  not 
be  maintained,  let  family  devotion  be  the  next  chosen  means. 
And,  at  any  rate,  let  secret  prayer  be  made,  and  ejaculatory 
devotion  offered  while  engaged  in  the  various  avocations  of 
life.  Let  prayer,  in  all  its  forms,  be  made  by  all  without 
ceasing. 

"  We  are  persuaded  that  God  will  grant  us  relief  in  due 
season,  although  it  may  not  come  as  soon  as  we  could  wish, 
and  we  may  be  called  to  experience  great  privation  and 
suffering  in  the  mean  time.  The  war,  too,  will  make  heavy 
demands  on  the  resources  of  our  friends,  so  that  our  assist- 
ance for  the  present  may  be  small,  and  even  precarious. 

"  While  the  shepherds  may  be  s*mitten  or  driven  away, 
the  sheep  may  be  scattered.  Then  let  all,  like  those  dis- 
persed after  the  death  of  Stephen,  preach  the  Word,  or 
propagate  their  religion  wherever  they  go  or  whatever  they 
do.  Your  purses,  too,  are  exhausted,  and  means  of  replen- 
ishing them  are  uncertain.  The  only  help  is  in  God,  whose 
providence  may  raise  up  unexpected  means.  We  pray  that 
the  grace  of  God  may  sustain  us  all.  We  propose  to  re- 
main at  our  post  to  the  last  extremity." 

5.    At   the   same    time,    May    15,    1861,   we   penned   the 


254  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

following    "  Remonstrance  to  the  ministers   and   members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  in  Missouri:" 

"  As  far  as  we  can  reach  you,  we  would  earnestly  address 
you  on  this  important  crisis  in  the  history  of  our  country. 
You  are  doubtless  aware  that  a  very  general  persecution  is 
now  on  foot  in  Missouri,  against  the  ministers  and  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Their  persons  are 
assaulted,  their  religious  services  are  interfered  with,  no- 
tices threatening  violence  are  sent  to  them  with  the  view 
of  driving  them  out  of  their  fields  of  labor,  and  of  expel 
ling  them  from  the  State.  This,  too,  is  actually  done  by 
mob  violence,  not  only  without,  but  against  the  forms  and 
provisions  of  law  and  the  Constitution.  It  is  also  known 
to  you  that  these  things  are  done  at  the  instigation,  con- 
nivance, and  approval  of  members  and  ministers  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South.  These  things  can  not 
be  denied  with  any  show  of  truth,  as  the  public  generally 
are  well  aware.  A  leading  politician  in  Missouri,  not  of 
the  Republican  party,  declares,  '  I  know  of  none  in  Mis- 
souri who  are  disposed  to  interrupt  your  ministers,  except 
the  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  and 
those  under  their  influence.'  This  answer  was  given  to  the 
following  question:  'Why  have  our  ministers  been  so  se- 
verely persecuted  in  Missouri?'  We  have  had  no  interfer- 
ence from  the  members  or  ministers  of  other  Churches, 
whether  Protestant  or  Catholic.  The  opposition  has  come 
solely  from  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South,  or  from  their  influence.  This,  to  the  best  of  our 
knowledge,  is  the  true  state  of  the  matter. 

(;  We  do  not  know,  or  in  this  case  desire  to  say  any  thing 
about  the  unhappy  circumstances  connected  with  the  organ- 
ization or  membership  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South  in  Missouri.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  many  of  our 
members  and  ministers,  in  1849,  called  on  the  Methodist 


CAPTURE  OF  CAMP  JACKSON.          255 

Episcopal  Church  to  attend  to  her  scattered  flocks  in  Mis- 
souri. The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  as  was  her  duty, 
listened  to  this  call  and  answered  it  affirmatively.  Many 
of  our  members,  in  other  States  and  countries,  who  moved 
to  Missouri,  besought  our  Church  to  minister  to  them. 
Besides,  there  are  multitudes  in  Missouri  whose  spiritual 
wants  require  our  services,  and  unless  they  are  furnished, 
they  are  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd.  Thus,  those  mem- 
bers who  remained  in  our  Church  after  1845,  and  members 
who  emigrated  to  Missouri,  and  the  needy  multitude  of  cit- 
izens who  depend  on  our  ministrations,  call  on  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  to  supply  them  with  pastors,  and 
give  them  the  ordinances  of  religion  as  administered  by 
the  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  This 
Macedonian  cry  was  heard  by  our  Church,  as  was  right  it 
should  be. 

"  Now,  we  would  earnestly  remonstrate  with  those  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  to  cease  to  interrupt 
and  interfere  with  our  preachers  and  members  in  Missouri. 
We  would  beseech  you  to  let  them  alone.  This  is  all  we 
ask — the  right  to  worship  according  to  the  privileges  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Missouri  and  of  the  United 
States.  Is  it  courteous,  Christian,  or  proper  for  one  Meth- 
odist or  Christian  sect  to  annoy,  disturb,  or  hinder  another 
such  sect  while  they  are  peaceably  exercising  the  rights  of 
citizens  ?  The  answer  to  this  question  is  very  plain  indeed. 
The  influence  of  these  petty  or  graver  molestations  is  poorly 
calculated  to. impress  the  public  favorably  in  behalf  of  the 
Christian  religion.  We  again  entreat  "you  to  let  our  people 
alone,  that  they  may  perform  their  duty  as  other  Christians 
in  Missouri.  We  urge  you  to  cease  countenancing  these 
assaults  on  their  persons,  those  notices  to  leave  their  fields 
of  labor,  and  the  other  interruptions  of  like  sort. 

"  We  are  bound,  however,  to  acknowledge,  and  we  are  glad 


256  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

to  do  it,  that  many  members  and  preachers  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church  South  are  averse  to  the  .proceedings 
of  their  brethren  who  lend  their  influence  to  annoy  our 
Church.  And  we  must  further  believe  that  the  course  dep- 
recated will  seriously  divide  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South  in  Missouri,  if  persisted  in.  Let  it  therefore  cease 
for  the  future,  we  implore  you,  and  let  the  past  be  forgot- 
ten, except  in  the  record  of  history. 

"  And  yet  there  is  a  duty  to  be  performed  by  you  who  are 
opposed  to  disturbing  us.  It  is  this,  that  you  should  not 
only  disapprove  and  discountenance  the  course  referred  to, 
but  also  protest  against  it,  if  need  be,  and  even  defend  us  in 
the  exercise  of  our  State  rights. 

"  Had  we  the  means  of  communication  with  all  the  mem- 
bers and  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South 
in  Missouri,  we  trust  this  our  humble  and  honest  plea  would 
have  the  effect  we  desire.  And  should  our  appeal  be  re- 
jected, we  must  suffer  on  to  the  utmost  verge  of  forbearance 
before  our  final  appeal  shall  be  presented  to  the  highest 
tribunal  on  earth.  After  this  our  cause  is  with  Grod,  either 
to  smite  or  release  us  as  may  be  right  in  his  eyes*  We 
conclude  by  asking  our  common  Father  in  heaven  to  grant 
to  all  of  us  such  dispositions  of  heart  as  he  will  approve 
.of  at  the  last  reckoning." 

^6.  The  foregoing  remonstrance  will  not  be  considered  out 
of  place,  if  the  real  state  of  things  be  presented  as  they 
existed  before  the  capture  of  Camp  Jackson.  This  will  be 
seen  from  the  following  by  Mr.  E.  G.  Evans,. a  Missourian 
by  birth,  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
both  before  and  since  1845.  He  writes  from  Steelville, 
Crawford  county,  Mo.,  May  4,  1861 : ' 

"All  persecutions  that  we  have  endured  can  be  traced  to 
that  new  religion  called  Southern  Methodism. 

i  Central  Christian  Advocate,  May  15,  1861,  p.  78. 


CAPTURE  OF  CAMP  JACKSON.          257 

Their  Church  is  now  kicking  hard  for  secession.  The  com- 
mon talk  is  that  it  is  'a  unit  for  secession;'  but  I  know 
some  stanch  men  who  intend  leaving  the  Church,  saying 
that  their  eyes  are  now  opened.  That  Church  receives  the 
curses  of  the  wicked,  yet  loyal  people  throughout  the  State. 
Last  week  was  Court  week  here.  The  first  secession  speech 
was  made  on  Monday  by  a  Southern  Methodist.  Two  other 
secession  speeches  were  made  by  other  Southern  Methodists. 
All  the  male  Southern  Methodists  in  town  are  secessionists, 
and  there  are  not  half  a  dozen  other  secessionists  in  town. 
A  member  of  the  Legislature  told  me  that  they  were  at  the 
root  of  Missouri  secession,  and  were  at  the  capital  in 
crowds  urging  the  policy." 

Mr.  Evans  calls  on  Dr.  M'Anally  to  produce  evidence  of 
the  allegations  made  against  the  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  namely,  that  they  were  abolitionists, 
negro  thieves,  and  that  no  person  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  should  be  allowed  to  live  in  Missouri,  or  the 
South- West.  He  refers  to  the  mobbing  of  the  Conference 
in  1859,  in  Texas,  as  only  a  mere  specimen.  The  editor 
of  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate  considered  these  perse- 
cutions as  a  small  matter,  and  resorted  to  this  mode  of  eva- 
sion and  misrepresentation,  instead  of  publishing  proofs  of 
.his  charges. 

And  here,  although  a  little  out  of  date,  we  may  make 
an  extract  from  a  letter  found  on  the  person  of  a  secession- 
ist, dated  CamJ)  Jackson,  St.  Louis,  May  9th,  and  addressed 
to  his  brother,  residing  in  Natchez : 

"Since  I  last  wrote  you,  we  have  had  accessions  to  our 
minute-men,  making  in  all  about  eighteen  hundred  men, 
including  the  minute-men.  Ours,  that  is  the  minute-men, 
have  daily  accessions.  Our  rendezvous,  corner  of  Fifth  and 
Pine,  is  kept  busy  recruiting.  In  a  short  time  we  shall 
have  enough  to  bring  the  Union  men  or  Black  Republicans 

22* 


258  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

to  our  terms,  or  force  them  to  leave  the  State.  "We  have  ^ 
Governor  who  is  true  blue.  He  is  trying  to  get  a  bill 
through  the  Legislature  that  will  bring  them  to  terms. 
When  we  get,  say,  from  four  to  five  thousand  minute-men, 
well  armed,  we  shall  be  all  ready  for  them.  We  pulled  the 
wool  over  their  eyes  by  making  them  think  we  only  in- 
tended to  stay  in  camp  six  days.  We  intend  to  stay  here 
till  the  Governor  gets  all  things  right  at  Jefferson  City. 
By  that  time  we  shall  have  all  the  men  we  want.  We  shall 
force  them  into  measures  to  suit  us  or  to  leave  the  State. 
We  are  for  the  South. 

"  I  have  just  received  news  that  Captain  Lyon  intends  to 
attack  us  to-morrow.  We  shall  whip  the  damned  United 
States  forces.  Our  flag  flies  at  the  corner  of  Fifth  and  Pine, 
and  we  shall  conquer,  and  expect  hot  work.  We  will  make 
these  Union  men  cry  for  quarters  yet.  Hurrah  for  the 
Southern  Confederacy  and  Jeff.  Davis,  and  damn  Lincoln 
and  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  .  .  .  Will  finish  after  the 
battle  is  won,  and  tell  you  how  we  have  whipped  them. 

"G.  W. 

"P.  S.  I  shall  mail  this  on  Saturday,  when  I  can  give 
you  all  the  particulars  of  our  glorious  victory." 

It  were  endless  to  enumerate  the  persecutions  of  loyal 
persons,  and  the  outrages  of  secessionists,  about  the  time 
of  the  capture  of  Camp  Jackson.  Volumes  could  easily  be 
filled  with  the  details. 

At  the  village  of  Fenton,  Mo.,  about  eighteen  miles  west 
of  St.  Louis,  where  a  week  before  a  minister  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  was  mobbed,  the  secessionists  were 
assembled,  May  12th,  at  the  dedication  of  a  new  church  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South.  The  neighboring 
secessionists  did  much  in  building  the  church.  While  as- 
sembled in  the  afternoon,  two  unarmed  soldiers  were  seen 
coming  along  the  road.  Women  shrieked,  men  trembled, 


CAPTURE  OF  CAMP  JACKSON.          259 

and  a  general  stampede  of  minister  and  congregation  closed 
the  services.  "A  guilty  conscience  needs  no  accuser."2 

On  the  evening  of  May  13th,  several  families  arrived  in 
St.  Louis  from  the  towns  of  Tipton,  California,  Sedalia,  and 
other  places  west  of  Jefferson  City.  A  reign  of  terror  ex- 
isted in  these  regions.  They  were  waited  on  and  ordered 
to  lea/ve  in  twenty-four  hours.  Many  of  those  who  were 
unable  to  get  away  were  compelled  to  join  the  rebel  army. 
To  declare  for  the  Union  was  to  put  life  in  danger. 

A  great  Southern  "love-feast,"  so  called,  was  to  be  held, 
May  16th,  as  we  gather  from  the  De  Soto  Herald,  which 
headed  the  programme  by  "Flag  Raising  and  State  Rights' 
Meeting."  The  Union  men  of  the  county — Washington — 
having  been  threatened  with  extermination,  and  some  of 
them  driven  from  Potosi,  the  county  seat,  complained  to 
Captain  Lyon.  Lyon  sent  Captain  Cole  and  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men,  who  seized  the  rebel  flag,  took  several 

2  A  somewhat  similar  but  more  fatal  trepidation  occ-urred  to  a  Bev.  Mr.  Whaley, 
several  years  a  presiding  elder  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South.  At  the 
commencement  of  the  rebellion  he  espoused  it,  and  went  down  into  the  Confed- 
eracy. As  there  was  more  protection  and  safety,  however,  for  an  unpolitical 
spiritual  divine  in  Missouri,  although  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  Union  mili- 
tary sway,  than  in  the  lawless,  rebel  wastes  of  Arkansas  and  Texas,  after  a  time, 
lie  returned  to  South  -West  Missouri,  the  scene  of  his  former  labors.  Some  days  after 
his  arrival,  while  walking  along  the  public  road,  not  far  from  Neosho,  he  saw  sev- 
eral mounted  Federal  soldiers  in  the  distance,  on  the  road,  coming  to  meet  him. 
He  at  once  set  out  on  a  line  at  right  angles  with  the  road,  toward  a  forest.  As  the 
soldiers  drew  near  the  point  where  he  left  the  road,  they  observed  him  starting  and 
running.  This  they  took  as  evidence  that  -he  was  a  guilty  rebel,  flying  some 
deserved  judgment  from  the  avengers  of  an  outraged  Government.  They  put 
their  horses  to  their  speed,  and  so  came  near  enough  to  fire  upon  him  just  as  he 
reached  the  foot  of  a  hill  thickly  overgrown  with  trees  and  underbrush.  Not  car- 
ing to  pursue  the  unknown  man  through  these  difficulties,  they  resumed  their 
journey.  At  this  time  Union  men  were  being  robbed  and  shot  daily  by  "  bush- 
whackers,"  who  sought  their  victims  with  the  stealth  and  fierceness  of  panthers 
and  these  soldiers  were  their  only  defense.  Their  fire  at  the  wood's  edge  had  fatally 
wounded  Mr.  Whaley,  and  he  only  reached  the  hill-top,  to  die  there,  solitary  and 
alone,  the  following  night.  He  had  taken  sides  with  and  become  the  aider  and 
abettor  of  indiscriminate  murderers,  highway  robbers,  and  assassins,  and  so 
naturally  fulfilled  the  proverb.:  "  The  wicked  flee  when  no  man  pursueth." — 
EDITOR. 


260  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

prisoners,  and  thus  broke  up  the  rebel  "  lovfe-feast "  of  the 
Southern  Methodists. 

We  learn  from  the  Quincy  Whig  of  May  14th,  that  a 
reign  of  terror  prevailed  in  Northern  Missouri.  Sixty 
families  were  driven  from  Macon  City,  in  two  weeks.  Se- 
cret councils  of  the  secessionists  were  being  held  over  Mis- 
souri, and  they  were  adopting  Claib.  Jackson's  "  armed 
neutrality."  On  the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  Railroad 
many  were  armed  and  ready  to  commit  any  depredations. 

The  Governor's  Camp  at  Jefferson  City,  was  reenforced 
on  the  16th  of  May,  by  some  two  hundred  and  twenty  men 
from  Warsaw  and  Pettis  county.  The  Warsaw  company 
bore  the  secession  flag,  and  threatened  to  shoot  down  Union 
men. 

Several  suburban  forts  were  erected  around  St.  Louis,  and 
three  regiments  were  distributed  at  these  posts,  so  as  to  pro- 
tect the  city  from  threatened  occupancy  by  the  rebels. 

In  South-East  Missouri  the  secessionists  were  organized, 
and  were  parading  and  marching  from  county  to  county, 
bullying  and  browbeating  Union  men,  especially  Germans, 
and  the  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

On  the  17th  the  United  States  troops,  by  warrant,  seized 
the  rebel  armaments,  deposited  in  the  State  Tobacco  Ware- 
house, and  the  Police  Head-Quarters.  Large  stores  of  war- 
like material  were  found  and  captured. 

The  foregoing  are  only  a  few  of  the  many  instances  in 
which  rebellion  had  organized  its  dark  conspiracies.  But 
on  viewing  the  whole  we  were  led  to  make  the  following 
declaration  in  our  editorial  columns,  May  22,  1861 : 

"MISSOURI  IS  NOW  ONE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  AND 
WILL  REMAIN  SO,  AND  WILL  NEVER  BECOME  A  MEMBER  OF 
THE  PRESENT  REBELLIOUS  SOUTHERN  CONFEDERACY." 

Such  was  then  our  firm  conviction.  On  the  10th  the 
rebel  mob  was  dispersed,  and  though  some  lives  were  lost, 


CAPTURE  OF  CAMP  JACKSON.  261 

the  act  of  Captain  Lyon.  was  one  of  mercy,  and  saved 
thousands  of  lives.  The  Governor  acted  the  traitor,  was  in 
combination  with  the  Southern  rebels.  General  Frost's  camp 
was  one  of  rebellion,  and  hoisting  the  United  States  flag  was 
only  a  feint  to  shelter  the  hidden  treason  in  the  camp. 

But  the  coup  de  main  of  the  noble  Lyon  was  a  saving 
act.  The  expression,  "  The  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gid- 
eon," may  be  applied  to  this  timely  act.  Generations  un- 
born will  sing  new  and  improved  editions  of  "  Yankee 
Doodle,"  and  the  "  Star-Spangled  Banner,"  "  Down  with 
the  Traitors,  and  up  with  the  Stars,"  etc. 

Yet  Lyon  did  not  accomplish  what  he  intended.  His 
purpose  was  to  proceed  Friday  night,  May  10th,  to  Jeffer- 
son City,  and  seize  as  prisoners  the  rebel  Governor  and  his 
disloyal  Legislature.  But  as  the  secessionists  had  the  con- 
trol of  the  telegraph  office  in  St.  Louis,  they  sent  a  dispatch 
to  the  Governor,  notifying  him  of  his  danger.  To  prevent 
his  capture,  he  caused  the  bridge  over  the  Osage  river  to 
be  burned,  and  thus  prevented  the  well-deserved  capture 
of  himself  and  his  fellow-traitors. 

7.  In  support  of  the  good  cause  of  the  Union  we  wrote 
a  brief  editorial,  May  15th,  on  this  heading,  "  Missouri  and 
the  Stripes  and  Stars,  one  and  inseparable."  The  purport 
of  our  remarks  went  to  say : 

There  is  an  unchangeable  partnership  between  Missouri, 
Illinois,  Iowa,  and  Kansas,  consisting  of  National  highways 
that  can  not  be  maintained  in  any  other  way  than  under 
the  flag  of  the  Union.  Should  Missouri  secede,  the  com- 
mon river  between  Illinois  and  Missouri  would  be  a  scene 
of  continual  warfare.  The  mendacity  of  the  Confederate 
Government  would  be  no  guarantee  for  peace. 

The  Missouri  is  the  great  National  water  course  for  Kan- 
sas, Nebraska,  Colorado,  and  Dacotah  on  the  west,  and  for 
Iowa  and  Minnesota  east  of  it. 


262  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

N. 

The  Pacific  Railroad,  running  through  Missouri,  from  east 
to  west,  from  the  seaboard,  must  not  cross  a  foreign  coun- 
try in  its  passage  through  Missouri. 

And  then  the  Lower  Mississippi,  from  Cairo  to  the  mouth, 
must  not  be  in  a  foreign  country. 

Other  considerations  go  to  the  same  amount. 

8.  Rev.  Z.  S.  Weller,  pastor  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  Jefferson  City,  under  date  of  May  14,  1861, 
wrote  for  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  May  22d,  an 
account  of  the  persecutions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  region  where  he  exercised  his  ministry. 

The  church  building  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
had  been  attacked  by  a  mob,  made  up  principally  of  drunken 
rowdies  and  others  of  like  sort,  at  the  instigation  of  leading 
men  of  the  Southern  Methodist  Church  and  other  pro- 
slavery  and  disloyal  persons.  So  manifest  was  it  that  the 
work  was  done  by  the  Southern  Methodist  Church,  or  at 
their  instigation,  that  Rev.  Mr.  Deitzler  and  others  of  that 
Church,  to  save  appearances,  promised  to  repair  the  dam- 
ages on  the  church.  This  offer,  however,  was  in  pretense, 
as  the  subsequent  history  fully  showed.  Nothing  was  ever 
done  by  them  to  repair  the  church.  From  Mr.  Weller  we 
collect  the  following  items,  similar  to  many  other  occur- 
rences in  Missouri,  in  reference  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

Although  boys  and  the  rabble,  says  Mr.  Weller,  were  en- 
gaged in'injuring  the  church,  the  mischief  was  done  princi- 
pally by  others  who  were  leaders.  The  former  charges 
were  urged  ;  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  had  no 
right  to  occupy  Missouri ;  that  her  people  were  abolitionists, 
negro  thieves,  and  the  like ;  that  they  ought  to  be  banished 
from  Missouri,  or  deprived  of  all  the  rights  of  citizens  till 
they  left  the  country.  Such  were  the  events  as  stated  by 
Mr.  Weller,  and  which  other  testimonies  fully  confirm. 


CAPTURE  OF  CAMP  JACKSON.          263 

A  reliable  person  writing  from  Jefferson  City,  May  19th, 
states  that  a  few  days  previous  two  companies  of  Jackson's 
militia  boasted  that  they  had  taken  twenty  or  thirty  guns 
from  the  Union  men.  For  they  went  from  house  to  house 
of  Union  men,  and  took  from  them  their  guns  and  pistols, 
and  threatened  to  hang  their  owners  if  they  said  any  thing 
about  it,  breaking  up  trunks  and  boxes  searching  for  arms. 
And  this  was  a  common  occurrence  in  the  entire  region 
about  Jefferson  City.  A  spoliation  somewhat  similar  to 
this  has  been  going  on  since  1849,  with  more  or  less  pub- 
licity, for  the  legislative  and  executive  powers  since  then 
have  been  on  the  side  of  rebellion.  Company  after  com- 
pany was  organized,  bearing  the  secession  flag.  No  United 
States  flags  were  there  to  be  seen.  One  on  the  Osage 
bridge  was  hewn  down  by  order  of  the  Governor.  More 
than  one  hundred  human  families  were  driven  from  Macon 
county  in  two  weeks.  Macon  City  was  nearly  depopulated, 
and  many  other  parts  of  Northern  Missouri  were  in  like 
condition.  And  the  members  and  ministers  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church  were  always  the  first  to  suffer.  The 
Northern  Methodists,  as  our  people  were  called,  under  this 
mobocratic  rule,  were  allowed  only  the  right  to  be  rapidly 
damned  in  such  way  as  the  caprice  and  passion  of  traitors 
dictated. 

Rev.  Isaac  Martin,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
preacher  on  Shelbyville  circuit,  North  Missouri,  under  date 
of  May  20th,  writes  that  he  could  no  lo-nger  exercise  his 
ministry  on  his  circuit.  He  was  warned  to  leave  one  town- 
ship by  a  written  notice  left  at  his  house,  signed  by  forty 
persons.  The  document  forbade  his  preaching  and  presence 
under  penalty  of  being  tarred  and  feathered,  and  then  set 
on  fire.  He  confined  his  services  to  Shelbyville  alono, 
Union  citizens  there  offering  him  protection.  Many  good 
Union  men  advised  him  for  the  time  to  desist  from  further 


264  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

services,  which  he  did.  By  this  persecution  he  was  sorely 
embarrassed  in  the  support  of  himself  and  family. 

At  St.  Joseph,  May  22d,  the  Stars  and  Stripes  were 
hoisted  over  the  post-office.  The  secessionists  cut  down  the 
pole,  tore  the  flag  in  pieces,  threw  the  pole  into  the  river, 
and  raised  the  rebel  flag  in  its  stead.  The  American  flag 
which  was  over  Turner's  Hall  was  taken  down  by  the  crowd 
of .  secessionists.  Thus  the  State  was  rapidly  passing  from1 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  under  the  truce 
of  Harney  and  Price. 

A  company  of  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  persons, 
composed  of  Union  men,  mostly  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  were  driven  out  of  Miller  county.  They 
left  property  worth  $100,000,  making  their  way  to  St.  Louis 
as  best  they  could  through  danger  of  assault  or  assassina- 
tion, as  the  temper  of  the  rebels  might  dictate. 

At  Fairmount,  Clark  county,  North-East  Missouri,  Union 
men,  in  April  and  May,  were  greatly  harassed  with  the 
view  of  banishing  them  from  the  State.  They  were  com- 
pelled to  lie  in  the  woods  and  secluded  places  to  preserve 
their  lives.  But  as  stated  in  a  letter,  dated  May  21st,  the 
Union  men  organized  into  military  companies,  received  arms 
from  the  General  Government,  and  by  this  means  stood  on 
the  defensive. 

The  following  from.E  Pluribus  Unum,  in  the  Methodist, 
is  a  just  portrait  of  Methodism  in  Missouri  at  this  time : 

"  The  enemies  of  Methodism  are  more  bold  and  confident 
than  they  have  been  for  years.  They  did  not  hesitate  to 
say  that  the  time  was  near  when  Methodist  preachers  will 
have  to  leave.  Intimations  are  given  when  their  personal 
safety  is  endangered.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is 
now  passing  through  the  fire,  perhaps  to  come  out  more 
pure  and  bright  than  ever.  I  do  not  know  half  a  dozen 
of  men  who  are  connected  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 


CAPTURE  OF  CAMP  JACKSON.  265 

Church  that  are  disunionists.  We  preach  in  favor  of  Union. 
We  pray  for  it,  and  we  talk  for  it,  and  defend  it  among  the 
people.  If  Western  Virginia  is  saved,  she  will  owe  her 
salvation  more  to  Methodism,  under  God,  than  to  any  other 
agency.  The  enemies  of  the  Government  are  the  enemies 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church." 

9.  At  this  juncture. in  the  affairs  of  our  Church  in  Mis- 
souri, in  connection  with  State  affairs,  we  were  led  in  the 
Central  Christian  Advocate,  of  May  22d,  to  proclaim  OUR 
DERNIER  RESORT,  seeing  our  Church  and  people  were,  be- 
yond all  others,  made  the  objects  of  the  special  opposition, 
and  attacks  of  pro-slavery  and  disunion  men. 

In  the  preface  to  this  declaration  we  stated  that  the  Al- 
mighty, in  fostering  his  gentle  and  long-suffering  people, 
has  appointed  ways  and  means  for  their  relief.  To  the 
civil  magistrate  he  has  given  the  sword  to  protect  the  inno- 
cent. To  his  witnessing  people  he  has  furnished  his  prov- 
idential care. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  the  first  to  propa- 
gate Christianity  in  Missouri.  When  the  great  secession 
took  place  in  1845,  only  a  small  remnant  of  witnesses  was 
left.  The  great  body  of  our  Church  was  seduced  from  the 
maternal  fold  by  pro-slavery  politicians,  to  the  great  injury 
of  religion  and  the  scandal  of  Methodism.  The  pro-slavery 
party  in  Missouri,  especially  Southern  Methodists,  used 
many  ways  of  annoyance,  in  view  of  driving  our  people  out 
of  Missouri,  as  they  had  successfully  done  in  Texas  and 
Arkansas.  These  persecutions  amounted  to  murders,  assault 
and  battery,  expatriations,  insults,  and  the  denial  of  equal 
rights  before  the  legislature,  the  judiciary,  and  the  execu- 
tive of  the  State,  and,  the  last  four  years  especially,  even 
before  the  United  States  marshals,  and  other  Government 
officials.  Recently,  these  embarrassments  were  increased. 
In  the  absence  of  any  declaration  of  any  ecclesiastical  body 

23 


266  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

\ 

in  our  Church,  we  uttered  our  protest  against  these  inva- 
sions, of  our  Federal  and  State  rights.  And  we  now  quote 
verbatim  what  we  penned  May  21,  1861,  to  meet  the  exi- 
gency of  our  position  and  that  of  our  people  : 

"  We  PROTEST,  as  a  substitute  for  our  rights,  the  offer  of 
the  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  in 
Jefferson  City,  to  pay  for  the  injury  done  to  our  church  edi- 
fice. If  this  assault  has  been  made  by  their  influence,  as 
seems  probable,  then  we  throw  back  with  just  indignation 
the  Judaic  price  of  the  cruel  wrong.  Or  if  this  proffer  has 
been  made  in  view  of  sustaining  our  rights,  we  reject  it  as 
inadequate,  while  our  legal  rights  as  citizens  of  Missouri  and 
of  the  United  States,  are  withheld  and  even  trampled  on. 
The  crisis  is  now  come,  and  we  want  to  meet  it  fearlessly. 
We  spurn  these  aids,  whether  well  or  insidiously  meant,  as 
the  price  of  our  natural  and  legal  rights. 

"  We  further  protest,  as  an  equivalent  or  substitute  for 
our  just  rights,  the  proffered  aid  of  General  S.  Price,  in 
any  other  form  than  our  just  rights  as  citizens.  It  will  be 
too  late  to  furnish  redress  to  save  life  after  the  murderer 
has  done  his  work,  or  the  wrong  be  such  that  no  redress  is 
possible  from  the  nature  of  the  injuries  inflicted.  Wooden 
arms  and  legs  are  poor  substitutes  for  the  natural  members. 

"  First  We  APPEAL  to  the  constituted  authorities  of  the 
State  of  Missouri  for  redress  of  grievances.  We  appeal  to 
the  legislative  power  to  give  us  the  same  benefit  of  legisla- 
tion as^  that  given  to  other  citizens  of  the  State.  We  ap- 
peal to  the  judiciary  of  Missouri,  that  we  may  have  the 
privilege  of  the  true  interpretation  of  law,  and  the  accord- 
ance of  our  rights.  We  appeal  to  the  executive  powers  of 
the  State,  and  the  corporate  officers  of  towns  and  cities  for 
protection  in  our  own  persons,  property,  right  of  worship, 
and  their  connected  rights.  And  as  these  have  been  de- 
nied us, 


CAPTURE  OF  CAMP  JACKSON.  267 

"  Secondly.  We  APPEAL  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  to  sustain  us  in  the  enjoyment  of  our  lawful  rights  as 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  of  Missouri.  We  ask, 
instead  of  being  assailed  and  maltreated,  a  regular  process 
of  law  and  trial  before  we  are  condemned  and  punished  by 
mob  law.  And  if  the  common  civil  tribunals  continue  to 
assail  us,  so  that  we  can  not  have  the  benefit  of  a  civil  proc- 
ess, we  ask  for  the  protection  of  martial  law,  till  we  shall 
have  the  privilege  of  enjoying  the  free  exercise  of  our 
rights  by  the  civil  power  of  the  country. 

"  Thirdly.  We  appeal,  for  the  justice  of  our  cause,  to  our 
loyal  fellow- citizens  of  the  United  States.  We  ask  them, 
is  it  not  hazardous  to  the  stability  of  our  civil  institutions 
to  allow  the  law  to  be  frustrated,  and  the  rights  of  the 
American  Magna  Charter  to  be  violated,  and  thus  to  en- 
courage mobs  and  misrule  of  all  sorte? 

"Fourthly.  Should  we  fail  in  the  foregoing -process,  for  the 
recovery  of  the  rights  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  Missouri,  we  leave  our  cause  in  the  hands  of  Almighty 
God,  beseeching  him  to  grant  to  our  persecutors  better  dis- 
positions of  heart,  and  to  our  suffering  brethren  grace  to 
bear  whatever,  in  his  all-wise  providence,  he  sees  fit  to 
permit." 

10.  In  the  course  of  the  month  of  May,  the  religious  serv- 
ices of  our  Church  in  Missouri  were  quite  suspended,  out- 
side of  St.  Louis.  Most  of  our  preachers  were  either  com- 
pelled to  leave  the  State  or  to  confine  themselves  to  one 
single  place.  Their  members  were  in  a  like  condition.  Mr. 
Weller  was  compelled  to  flee  to  St.  Louis  to  save  his  life. 
His  wife  and  children  were  at  Jefferson  City,  in  terror  of 
death,  and  she  could  not,  with  safety,  get  away  to  join  her 
husband  in  St.  Louis.  This  was  the  state  of  things, 
May  24th. 

The   Spring  and   Summer  of  1861  was  truly  a  reign  of 


268  SOUJH-WESTEKN  METHODISM. 

terror  in  Missouri.  In  St.  Louis,  every  one  was  armed,  and 
slept  with  fire-arms  within  reach.  Our  office  was  also  our 
bedroom.  Mr.  S.  M.  Kennedy,  now  a  book  publisher, 
and  editor  of  the  elegant  "  Chicago  Home  Circle,"  who 
slept  with  us,  had  his  revolver  within  reach  every  night. 
Another  who  slept  in  an  adjoining  room,  was  armed  in  like 
manner.  We  slept  in  the  third  story,  and  these  two  were 
ready  to  defend  the  passage,  should  an  assault  be  made. 
We,  on  our  part,  did  not  feel  the  necessity  of  being  armed 
at  all.  We  slept  soundly,  and  never  lost  any  rest  in  conse- 
quence of  the  surrounding  alarms. 

After  the  capture  of  Camp  Jackson,  perhaps  one -fourth 
of  the  population  left  St.  Louis  for  a  time. 

11.  At  this  critical  juncture,  May  17th,  Bishop  Morris 
wrote  an  admirable  letter  for  the  Central  Christian  Advo- 
cate, to  encourage  consistent  loyalty.  We  here  give  it  to 
our  readers.  It  appeared  in  the  Central  Christian  Advocate 
of  May  29th : 

"OBEDIENCE  TO  LAW. — Law  is  a  rule  of  action  pre- 
scribed by  the  supreme  authority  of  a  State  or  Nation, 
and  obedience  is  compliance  with  its  requirements.  The 
importance  of  these  is  apparent  to  all.  Without  them  all  is 
anarchy.  Might  claims  to  be  right,  brute  force  holds  do- 
minion, and  mob  violence  pours  its  desolating  flood  over 
the  land.  Without  wholesome  law,  properly  enforced,  we 
have  no  security  that  our  domestic,  social,  civil,  or  relig- 
ious liberties  will  be  safe  for  one  day  or  hour.  Any  law, 
even  martial  law,  is  preferable  to  anarchy.  It  would  be 
better  to  live  in  a  conquered  province,  where  law  is  re- 
spected, than  to  live  under  the  best  theoretical  form  of 
government,  in  name  only,  where  insubordination  is  openly 
avowed,  and  mob  violence  prevails. 

"Any  combination  or  association  of  men — call  it  a  vigi- 
lance committee,  or  what  you  please — to  supersede  the  law, 


CAPTURE  OF  CAMP  JACKSON.  269 

and  take  the  administration  into  their  own  hands,  is  a  mob, 
an  irresponsible,  lawless  mob,  and  the  peace  and  safety  of 
the  country  depend  on  a  successful  resistance  to  all  such. 

"All  party  strife  about  republicanism  and  democracy, 
about  abolition  and  pro-slaveryism,  etc.,  should  be  suspended. 
The  question  before  the  American  is,  Government  or  no 
Government  ?  It  has  but  two  sides,  and  we  can  employ  but 
two  parties.  Let  all  the  friepds  of  God  and  their  country 
take  the  affirmative  side  of  the  question,  and  the  rest  may 
take  the  negative  side  or  no  side  at  all,  as  they  like.  He 
that  is  not  for  us  is  against  us.  There  is  no  middle  ground. 
Every  friend  to  his  country  can  render  her  some  aid.  Some 
can  take  the  field,  and  others  can  contribute  toward  defray- 
ing the  expenses,  and  they  who  can  neither  fight  nor  give, 
can  pray. 

"'God  is  the  judge:  he  putteth  down  one,  and  setteth  up 
another.'  Ps.  Ixxv,  7.  This  he  does  by  his  providential 
interference  with  the  affairs  of  men  for  his  own  glory  and 
their  good.  The  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  universe  has  much 
to  do  with  the  government  of  nations.  Paul  says:  'Let 
every  soul  be  subject  unto  the  higher  powers.  For  there  is 
no  power  but  of  God :  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of 
God.  Whosoever,  therefore,  resisteth  the  power,  resisteth 
the  ordinance  of  God:  and  they  that  resist  shall  receive  to 
themselves  damnation.'  Rom.  xiii,  1,  2. 

"This  testimony  of  an  inspired  apostle  fully  sustains  the 
propositions:  that  God  is  the  primary  source  of  civil  au- 
thority; that  he  ordains  civil  government;  that  he  requires 
all  men  to  obey  it ;  that  resistance  to  lawful  authority  is  re- 
bellion, not  only  against  the  Government,  but  against  God 
who  ordains  it,  and  that  he  will  hold  the  rebels  to  a  fear- 
ful account. 

"  To  deny  either  of  these  propositions  is  virtually  to  deny 
the  truth  of  God's  Word.  It  may  be  asked,  is  there  any 


270  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

exception  to  the  rule,  *  Let  every  soul  be  subject  unto  the 
higher  powers?'  I  answer,  yes.  When  a  government  be- 
comes so  corrupt  as  to  deprive  its  citizens  of  their  natural 
and  acquired  rights,  in  an  unconstitutional  and  reckless  way, 
the  Government  may  be  changed,  by  constitutional  means, 
if  practicable,  or  by  force,  if  necessary. 

"But  this  exception  is  not  applicable  to  the  case  now 
pending.  No  attempt  is  or  has  been  made  by  the  Federal 
Government  to  deprive  the  secessionists  of  any  rights  se- 
cured to  them  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 
On  the  contrary,  the  favors  of  the  Government  have  been 
lavished  upon  them  in  undue  proportion.  Secession,  there- 
fore, is  rebellion,  without  any  plausible  excuse,  and  will  re- 
sult in  the  destruction  of  its  authors  and  leaders,  and  many 
of  those  engaged  in  it.  One  thing  is  cause  of  deep  regret, 
that  is,  many  innocent  persons  will  suffer  with  the  guilty. 
This  is  unavoidable,  from  their  involuntary  relation  to  the 
revolutionary  movement.  As  for  us  who  adhere  to  the 
Union,  we  have  little  to  fear,  and  can  say  with  David, 
{  Though  a  host  should  encamp  against  me,  my  heart  shall 
not  fear ;  though  war  should  rise  up  against  me,  in  this  I 
will  be  confident.'  Ps.  xxvii,  8.  It  remains  for  Christians 
to  watch,  pray,  and  trust  in  God  to  save  the  country,  and 
calmly  wait  for  the  result.  May  all  end  well ! 

"T.  A.  MORRIS. 

"SPRINGFIELD,  OHIO,  May  17,  1861." 

12.  At  this  time,  in  behalf  of  the  good  cause  in  which 
we  were  engaged,  especially  in  support  of  the  glorious  Stars 
and  Stripes,  we  deemed  it  proper  to  mention  some  encour- 
agements we  met,  in  the  trying  circumstances  in  which  we 
were  placed.  More  particularly  did  we  value  the  judgment 
of  our  Bishops,  who  are  men  of  large  experience,  and  in 
the  exercise  of  their  functions,  are  schooled  to  habits  of 
impartiality,  as  no  other  class  of  men  in  the  Church.  In 


CAPTURE  OP  CAMP  JACKSON.  271 

some  incidental  communications,  on  Church  matters,  from 
our  Bishops,  they  felt  free  to  express  themselves  in  a  pri- 
vate way,  as  to  the  Central  Christian  Advocate,  and  other 
matters. 

Bishop  Morris  is  noted  for  his  sober  judgment  and  safe 
opinions  on  all  points  within  tlfe  sphere  of  his  observations. 
He  has  never,  in  our  opinion,  given  an  unwise  or  even 
doubtful  decision.  And  then  his  pure  English  style  is  so 
/  correct  that  it  can  not  be  misunderstood,  nor  can  a  single 
word  be  added,  diminished,  or  changed  in  his  writing.  In  a 
detached  note  accompanying  his  admirable  and  timely  ar- 
ticle on  obedience  to  law,  he  says: 

"  If  my  scrap  will  help  you,  print  it ;  if  not,  burn  it. 
The  concentration  of  our  troops  at  all  exposed  points,  from 
Kansas  to  the  Atlantic,  along  our  border,  and  the  blockad- 
ing of  Southern  ports,  are  exerting  a  great  influence.  The 
rebels  are  confused  and  fear  defeat.  I  trust  God  is  on  our 
side,  and  if  he  is  we  are  safe.  The  Central  is  at  the  right 
place  for  us  in  this  crisis.  Long  may  it  flourish !  Yours 
as  ever  and  forever." 

Bishop  Ames,  as  most  are  aware,  is  a  man  of  statesman- 
like views,  has  never  been  a  partisan  in  politics,  nor  a 
candidate  for  office.  Had  he  been  he  would  have  long  since 
been  a  United  States  Senator.  But  he  held  to  his  minis- 
terial work,  and  God  has  greatly  blessed  him  in  it.  On 
the  fifth  of  May,  the  Bishop,  having  occasion  to  write  to 
us,  speaks  as  follows: 

"  I  thank  God  that  you  are  doing  so  nobly  with  the  Cen- 
tral. May  you  continue  to  prosper  more  and  more  in  your 
noble  work  for  God  and  humanity  !  Madness  rules  the 
hour  in  the  South;  but  God,  I  am  persuaded,  will  bring 
great  good  out  of  all  these  great  commotions.  I  have  more 
hope  for  our  country  now  than  I  have  had  at  any  time  for 
ten  years  past." 


272  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

We  have  received  similar  encouraging  words  from  Bishops 
Janes,  Scott,  and  Baker.  From  many  other  sources,  too, 
we  were  cheered,  in  our  most  trying  circumstances. 

At  the  time  Camp  Jackson  was  taken,  it  was  under  con- 
sideration by  the  Agents  to  send  the  Sunday  school  books 
at  St.  Louis  to  Cincinnati  or  Chicago.  On  reflection  this 
was  not  done,  as  it  would  seem  to  be  a  sign  of  giving  up 
the  South-West.  It  was  also  considered,  whether  the  Cen- 
tral Christian  Advocate  should  not  be  published  in  Illinois, 
should  our  office  in  St.  Louis  be  torn  down — a  catastrophe 
which  some  feared.  But  the  storm  passed  away,  and  the 
Central  Christian  Advocate  still  lives,  although  five  religious 
papers  in  St.  Louis  perished  under  the  pressure  of  the 
times. 


EVENTS  IN  JUNE,  1861.  273 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

EVENTS  IN  JUNE,  1861. 

1.  THE  case  of  Rev.  S.  Ing  deserves  notice  here.  In 
January,  1861,  while  traveling  the  Holla  circuit,  he  visited 
Salem  to  attend  a  quarterly  meeting  in  the  place  of  the  pre- 
siding elder,  Rev.  R.  R.  Witten  being  preacher  in  charge. 
A  band  of  slaveholders  warned  him  to  leave,  under  the 
general  charge  of  his  meddling  with  slaves ;  if  he  disobeyed 
their  demand  he  was  to  be  "  black-jacked,"  tarred,  hung, 
or  something  of  the  sort.  On  Sabbath  they  came  forward 
in  the  congregation  and  read  a  paper,  with  the  heading, 
"  State  of  Missouri,  County  of  Dent,  January  18,  1861. 
To  Rev.  Ing,  minister  of  the  Gospel  in  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  Respected  Sir,  etc."  This  document  asked 
several  questions  about  slavery.  Mr.  Ing  made  a  reply, 
which  decided  the  question  for  the  time,  and  covered  the 
interrogators  with  confusion.1 

A  private  letter,  sent  to  Illinois,  stated  that  Mr.  Ing  had 
been  hung  by  a  mob.  To  this  he  replies,  May  16,  1861, 
that  he  is  still  alive,  but  threatened  every  day  with  mob 
violence.  He  was  waited  on  by  two  men,  who  commanded 
him  to  stop  preaching  at  one  of  his  appointments,  swearing 
they  would  violently  interfere.  Two  Southern  Methodist 
preachers  assisted  in  raising  the  excitement  as  high  as  pos- 
sible. These  sectional  divines  have  almost  invariably  insti- 
gated and  aided  the  persecutions  we  have  had  to  suffer  in 
Missouri.  Without  them  and  their  influence  there  would 

i  Central  Christian  Advocate,  February  20, 18G1. 


274  SOUTH-WESTEKN  METHODISM. 

have  been  little  of  it.  In  a  controversy  with  Mr.  Ing,  one 
of  these  preachers  said  we  ought  to  be  "  driven  out," 
"  scouted  out,"  "  kicked  out  of  the  country."  He  then 
had  the  rabble  standing  around  him.  Mr.  Ing  then  said, 
"  I  am  sorry  to  see  our  preachers  leaving  the  State.  If 
they  can  not  continue  to  preach,  the  most  of  them  could 
stay  in  the  State  till  the  difficulty  is  over,  and  then  resume 
their  work;  for  by  the  grace  of  God  we  will  hold  on  to 
Missouri.  Let  us  preach  as  long  as  we  can,  and  then  if 
we  must  be  stopped,  let  us  fight  in  the  defense  of  our  rights, 
and  fight  in  the  same  way  we  preached,  and  the  God  of 
battles  will  help  us." 

Such  was  the  heroic  counsel  Mr.  Ing  gave  the  other 
preachers.  He  also  followed  out  in  practice  the  purpose  he 
expressed ;  for  he  continued  to  preach  till  no  congregations 
could  assemble  in  any  safety  for  the  uprising  of  the  seces- 
sionists. He  evaded  his  pursuers,  and  when  no  other  way 
was  left,  joined  the  Union  army,  and  was  commissioned  to 
raise  a  company  of  cavalry.  This  he  did  among  the  mixed 
population  of  rebels  and  loyalists.  Chosen  to  the  Captaincy, 
as  a  courageous  soldier,  he  led  his  company  through  many 
perilous  scenes;  and  when  the  condition  of  the  State  allowed 
it,  he  went  to  his  former  work  of  preaching,  praying,  and 
exhorting,  his  piety  being  much  replenished  while  he  served 
his  country  as  a  good  soldier  and  performed  gratuitous 
services  as  chaplain.  m 

When  the  commander  had  learned  the  true  character  of 
Mr.  Ing,  he  gave  him  in  charge  a  sufficient  number  of  men 
to  range  the  country.  They  brought  several  secessionists 
to  camp,  and  a  number^ of  horses  and  mules.  Mr.  Ing 
showed  his  company  three  several  places  where  gallows  had 
been  erected  for  hanging  himself.  Although  waylaid  and 
pursued,  he  eluded  his  pursuers,  who  mostly  thought  it  the 
better  part  of  valor  to  avoid  coming  in  contact  with  a  man 


EVENTS  IN  JUNE,  1861.  275 

fully  armed  for  his  defense,  with  revolvers  and  other  weap- 
ons necessary  to  meet  the. assaults  of  sworn  assassins. 

Rev.  Mr.  Wood,  whose  circuit  was  in  the  same  region, 
made  out  to  take  his  family  to  Illinois.  He  then  returned 
to  join  the  cavalry  company  of  the  heroic  Ing,  in  support 
of  the  Stripes  and  Stars.  With  these  two  men  there  was 
no  need  of  any  other  chaplain  in  the  command. 

2.  The  persecution  that  followed  Bewley,  and  put  him  to 
death,   seemed  still  abroad  in  Texas  at  this   time,  driving 
Union  men  from  the  country.     Most  of  the  members  of  our 
Church  had  been  driven  out  before  this.     While  they  were 
especially  obnoxious  to  slaveholders,  much  the  same  spirit 
was  manifest  toward  other  Unionists.     Rev.  J.  H.  Hawley, 
from  Kansas,  May  13,  1861,2  wrote  us  as  follows: 

"  For  the  last  four  weeks  the  roads  leading  into  Kansas, 
by  the  way  of  Fort  Scott,  from  Arkansas  and  Texas,  have 
been  literally  lined  with  emigrants,  with  their  families  and 
large  herds  of  cattle.  They  look  well,  but  the  emigrants 
tell  a  sad  tale.  *  Truth  is  turned  away  backward,  and  jus- 
tice is  fallen  in  the  streets.'  Liberty  of  conscience  is  en- 
tirely out  of  the  question.  To  be  a  Free-State  man  is 
crime  enough  for  the  halter  or  gibbet.  A  Baptist  preacher 
(missionary)  had  resided  eight  years  in  Austin,  Texas, 
where  he,  under  God,  had  built  up  a  good  Church,  and 
they  were  all  obliged  to  leave  and  abandon  their  property, 
if  they  could  not  rent  or  sell  it, .and  that  was  out  of  the 
question.  He  left  a  farm  there  that  he  could  not  sell. 
Many  of  these  emigrants  stop  with  us,  others  pass  still 
further  North." 

3.  Rev.  A.  J.  Gaither,  of  Mt.  Vernon  circuit,  comprising 
parts    of   Lawrence,    Barry,    Stone,    Taney,    and    Christian 
counties,   South-West   Missouri,    June   5th,    writes   that    a 
large   majority  of  preachers  and   people   of  the   Southern 

•Central  Christian  Advocate,  June  5th. 


276  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Methodist  Church  were  for  secession ;  while  some  of  their 
best  members  and  one  of  their  preachers  were  loyal,  some 
of  whom  were  expelled  from  the  Church  on  that  account. 

In  a  letter  from  Rev.  R.  R.  Witten,  dated  Kansas,  June 
20,  1861,  we  learn  the  following:  His  appointment  was 
Salem  circuit,  near  Rolla.  He  went  to  Rolla  to  see  brother 
Sellers,  who,  on  the  previous  morning,  set  out  for  Kansas, 
seeing  his  life  was  in  danger  and  his  way  to  success  in 
preaching  hedged  up.  Mr.  Witten  was  immediately  notified 
by  the  secessionists  to  leave,  under  peril  of  attack.  While 
the  mob  was  hunting  for  him,  he  made  out  to  get  his  horse, 
and  proceeded  to  Rev.  N.  Shumate's,  about  three  o'clock, 
A.  M.,  a  distance  of  eight  miles.  When  he  returned  to  his 
circuit  he  found  several  of  his  members  and  others  had 
been  warned  to  leave  the  country.  Father  Cook,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Church,  about  seventy  years  of  age,  had  been 
pelted  with  stones,  badly  hurt,  and  ordered  to  leave  the 
country  within  a  few  days.  Dr.  Archer,  a  local  preacher, 
was  ordered  to  leave  immediately.  An  organized  mob  was 
in  readiness  at  every  appointment  to  assail  the  preacher. 
On  consulting  his  people,  Mr.  Witten  andUhey  concluded 
that  religious  meetings  could  no  longer  be  held.  Hence, 
on  Friday,  May  17th,  in  a  two-horse  wagon,  he  and  his 
wife  set  out  for  Kansas.  On  reaching  the  eastern  part  of 
Cedar  county  he  found  the  secession  element  very  strong ; 
but  getting  into  a  Union  neighborhood  he  stopped  a  few 
days.  Here  the  Southern  Methodist  members  were  Union 
men.  While  prosecuting  his  journey,  he  was  at  one  place 
pursued  by  rebels,  but  as  he  missed  his  contemplated  road, 
his  pursuers  missed  him,  and  thus,  by  the  good  providence 
of  God,  he  escaped  and  arrived  at  his  destination  in  safety. 

Rev.  J.  W.  Prince,  on  Kirksville  circuit,  June  10th, 
writes,  that  in  Kirksville  there  were  three  secession  preach- 
ers, belonging  respectively  to  the  Presbyterian,  Baptist, 


EVENTS  IN  JUNE,  1861.  277 

and  Southern  Methodist  Churches.  They  exerted  their 
influence  for  the  Southern  Confederacy.  The  Southern 
Methodist  preacher  used  his  influence  especially  against 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Mr.  Prince  was  met  by 
mobs  at  his  appointments,  but,  as  it  were  by  an  overruling 
Providence  awing  them,  they  did  not  violently  attack  him, 
though  collected  for  that  purpose.  His  people  were  too 
poor  and  few  to  support  him,  under  these  untoward  circum- 
stances, the  small  amount  of  missionary  money  did  not 
reach  him,  so  that  he  suffered  much  pecuniary  embar- 
rassment. 

4.  The  outbreaking  of  the  rebellion  received  great  en- 
couragement from  the  ministry  and  press  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  South  in  Missouri.  Of  this  there  are 
more  proofs  than  we  have  room  to  notice.  But  we  will  ab- 
breviate as  much  as  possible. 

The  Missouri  State  Journal,  a  secession  paper  edited  by 
Mr.  Tucker,  worked  hard  to  destroy  the  Constitution  of 
Missouri,  and  to  place  the  State  under  a  foreign  jurisdic- 
tion, on  the  platform  of  South  Carolina.  Mr.  Tucker  was 
from  South  Carolina,  and  a  zealous  Southern  Methodist  in 
St.  Louis.  He  was  the  familiar  friend  of  Dr.  M'Anally, 
and  the  leading  Southern  Methodists  of  St.  Louis.  In  his 
day  he  advertised  runaway  negroes,  using  the  common  cuts 
for  that  purpose,  those  of  negroes  and  negresses  running 
with  their  bundles  in  hand  or  on  their  shoulders.  This 
man  Tucker  was  very  zealous  in  the  Southern  Methodist 
Churches  in  St.  Louis,  and  labored  with  great  earnestness 
in  the  rebel  cause,  till  his  rebel  sheet  was  suppressed  as  an 
incendiary  paper. 

From  Fayette,  Missouri,  June  5,  1861,  Rev.  Andrew 
Monroe  addresses  the  members  and  ministers  of  the  St. 
Louis  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South, 
urging  July  3d  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  that, all 


278  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

might  deplore  National  sins,  and  pray  for  peace.  In  this 
he  is  joined  by  the  signatures  of  the  leading  preachers  of 
St.  Louis ;  namely,  Messrs.  Boyle,  Marvin,  Watts,  and 
Pinkard. 

Mr.  Monroe,  May  28th,  writes  a  general  letter  to  his 
brethren,  made  up  of  generalities,  and  yet  sufficiently  plain 
to  show  he  was  identified  with  the  rebels.  He  says : 

"  Then  my  earnest  advice  to  all  our  preachers  and  edi- 
tors is,  to  maintain  STRICT  NEUTRALITY  in  regard  to  the 
partisan  strife  of  the  country."  June  5th  Mr.  Monroe 
writes  another  letter  of  generalities.  Indeed,  the  style  of 
these  two  circulars,  and  the  call  for  a  day  of  fasting  and 
prayer,  is  that  of  the  non-committal  secessionists,  who  used 
this  language  to  keep  up  appearances,  while  their  entire 
influence  was  for  the  rebellion. 

The  editor  df  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate,  June 
27th,  has  a  long  article  on  "  News  of  the  Week,"  in  which 
by  evasive  declarations  he  indorses  the  rebels,  although,  in 
passing,  he  disavows  the  very  thing  he  indirectly  and  cov- 
ertly maintains.  We  cull  the  following  paragraph  from  the 
article  : 

"  No  one  can  charge  that  the  civil  law  was  powerless  in 
Missouri,  or  that  its  officers  were  derelict  in  their  duties, 
and  yet  military  occupation  and  military  rule  have  been 
resorted  to." 

Again : 

"  Mark  it  and  remember  it.  If  the  downward  tendency 
which  has  distinguished  the  history  of  political  affairs  of 
this  country  during  the  last  two  months  shall  pass  by,  no 
earthly  power  can  save  the  Northern  portion  of  this  coun- 
try from  wildest  anarchy  or  direst  despotism.  One  or  the 
other  is  sure  to  result  from  the  present  state  and  tend- 
ency of  things  as  that  any  consequent  follows  its  antecedent. 
Mark  that!" 


EVENTS  IN  JUNE,  18(51.  279 

AVe  also  find  the  following  in  the  sa'me  article,  with  refer- 
ence to  those  who  call  his  sheet  a  secession  paper  : 

"  As  some  of  you  well  know,  he  [the  editor]  has  not 
said  one  word  in  favor  of  the  secession  of  Missouri;  nor 
has  he  said  one  word  against  it." 

He  further  on  adds: 

"  We  soberly  advise  you  to  one  of  two  courses;  either 
stop  your  pious  whining  and  groaning,  and  leave  off  your 
affectation  of  sanctity,  or  else  quit  your  lying  and  slander. 
You  know  you  have  no  right  to  call  this  a  secession  paper, 
and  whether  the  editor  is  a  secessionist  or  Unionist  is  more 
than  you  can  tell  from  any  thing  he  has  ever  published  in 
the  paper." 

A  few  selections  from  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate 
will  show  the  animus  of  its  editor  toward  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church: 

"To  carry  on  the  operations  of  the  Church  North  in 
.slave  territory  is  next  to  impossible.  And  now  mark  the 
following  particulars :'  1.  There  is  no  abatement  of  the 
abolition  feeling  in  the  Church  North,  nor  is  there  likely 
to  be  any.  2.  Men  laboring  in  slave  States,  in  connection 
with  the  Church  whose  organs  these  papers  are,  must  be 
more  or  less  liable  to  the  charge  of  abolitionism.  The  pub- 
lic mind  will  look  upon  them  in  their  relations,  and  form, 
to  some  extent,  its  judgment  of  them  by  the  company  they 
keep."' 

"Nol  withstanding  such  repeated  declarations  from  a  num- 
ber of  these  missionaries,  that  they  were  not  abolitionists, 
and  were  not  interfering  with  the  institutions  of  the  country, 
still  the  opinion  seems  to  prevail  that  these  devoted,  self- 
sacrificing  missionaries  are  laboring  with  might  and  main  to 
pull  down  the  strongholds  of  slavery,  and  give  freedom  to 
all  the  race."  * 

»  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate,  August  12,  1852.        4  Idem,  March  1, 1855. 


280  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Speaking  of  the  mobbing  of  our  preachers,  the  editor 
says : 

"  Deeds  of  violence,  which  mistaken,  misguided,  and  im- 
prudent men  have  brought  upon  themselves."  5 

"  They  are  unwilling  to  have  their  preachers  in  slave  ter- 
ritory unless  they  will  array  themselves  in  open  hostility  to 
the  institution  of  slavery.  .  .  .  Array  themselves 
against  the  laws  of  the  land.  Stir  up  strife."  6 

"They  were  organized  in  direct  violation  of  a  solemn 
agreement.  .  .  .  And  where  the  North  covenanted  they 
should  never  be.  ...  They  certainly  can  not  expect  a 
large  share  of  the  confidence  or  respect  of  honorable  men, 
and  when  that  direct  legislation  comes  upon  them,  they  will 
pass  away  unwept  and  unsung.  Let  them  go." 

"  Honorable,  God-fearing  men  keep  covenants,  dishonor- 
able men  break  them.  .  .  .  They  can  never  do  much 
good  here."  7 

Quotations  from  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate  could- 
be  given  in  a  continuous  chain  to  the  present  time — Octo- 
ber, 1864 — the  purport  of  which  would  be  the  same  thing 
that  Bishop  Pierce  uttered  in  1860,  namely,  that -the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  ought  not  to  be  tolerated  in  slave 
territory. 

The  neutrality  of  Dr.  M'Anally  and  Rev.  Andrew  Mon- 
roe is  identical  with  the  most  outspoken  treason  of  the 
Southern  Methodist  press.  The  St.  Louis  Christian  Advo- 
cate has  the  imprimatur  of  the  Charleston,  Richmond, 
Nashville,  and  Texas  Christian  Advocates. 

Bishop  Andrew  writes,  at  this  time,  in  the  Southern 
Christian  Advocate,  as  follows : 

"  The  women  of  the  South,  during  the  Revolution,  were 
proverbial  for  their  patriotic  devotion  to  their  country's 

6  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate,  August  28,  1856. 
fi  Idem,  June  7,  1855.       »  Idem,  January  14, 1848. 


EVENTS  IN  JUNE,  1861.  281 

weal.  I  am  perfectly  satisfied  that  their  daughters  have 
inherited,  in  full  measure,  the  same  spirit.  Our  people  in- 
tend to  fight  to  the  death  for  their  homes  and  their  altars, 
and  even  should  it  so  turn  out  that  Lincoln's  Government 
should  succeed  in  'crushing'  or  'whipping  out'  the  South — 
which  seem  to  be  the  pet  phrases  now  so  freely  used  by  our 
enemies  in  reference  to  us — it  will  have  been  a  costly  strug- 
gle, and  their  victory  will  ruin  them.  But  I  have  little  fear 
of  their  success.  1.  Because  our  cause  is  righteous.  2.  The 
people  of  the  South — thanks  to  Lincoln's  folly  and  perfidy — 
are  now  very  nearly  a  unit.  3.  We  are  fighting  at  home 
and  for  home.  We  ask  only  to  be  permitted  to  govern  our- 
selves. We  wish  to  relieve  our  late  associates  from  all  par- 
ticipation in  the  sin  which  has  so  sorely  troubled  their  con- 
science. 4.  We  have  soldiers  enough — an  army  made  up 
of  the  very  best  material,  and  commanded  by  ofiicers  second 
to  none  on  earth  ;  and,  finally,  and  above  all,  we  look  up 
for  God's  direction  and  blessing.  Thousands  of  our  soldiers 
are  Christian  men,  who  are  not  ashamed  to  confess  Christ 
in  the  camps,  and  every  day  thousands  of  prayers  go  up  to 
God,  invoking  his  presence  and  aid.  In  many  of  our 
churches,  prayer  meetings  are  being  constantly  held  in  behalf 
of  the  country,  and  our  sons,  and  husbands,  and  brothers 
on  the  tented  fields — and  will  not  God  hear  and  answer?" 

The  Nashville  Christian  Advocate,  early  in  June,  in  an- 
swer to  loyal  letters  from  Kentucky,  remonstrating  against 
its  secession  character,  says : 

"We  are  for  the  Confederate  States  and  their  success  in 
this  war.  Call  you  that  secession  ?  By  that  or  any  other 
name  you  like — disunion,  rebellion,  revolution.  But  you 
have  all  along  been  holding  that  our  pulpits  and  presses 
should  not  interfere  in  politics.  We  hold  that  yet,  and  are 
consistent.  Neutrality  in  politics  is  one  thing;  neutrality 
in  war  is  another,  and  very  different." 

24 


282  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

"  That  the  people  of  Tennessee,  on  the  8th  of  June,  at 
the  ballot-box,  unite  as  one  man,  and  give  their  unanimous 
indorsement  to  the  action  of  our  Legislature,  declaring  our 
noble  State  independent,  forever,  of  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment, now  in  the  hands  of  abolitionists,  and  usurpers, 
who  have  subverted  the  very  principles  of  liberty  for  which 
our  fathers  fought.  And  we  recommend  further,  that  in 
view  of  every  consideration  of  present  protection  and  of  fu- 
ture interest  and  honor,  the  people  of  Tennessee  vote  unan- 
imously, on  the  8th  of  June,  to  ratify  the  action  of  our 
Legislature,  cut  loose  from  the  North  forever,  and  adopt 
the  Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States.1' 8 

This  is  the  neutrality  that  prevailed  in  the  Church  South, 
and  varies  little,  if  any,  from  the  spirit  which  underlies  the 
ambiguous  mutterings  of  Mr.  Monroe  and  Dr.  M'Anally, 
and  is  but  the  counterpart  of  Bishop  Andrew's  hostility  to 
the  Union. 

5.  We  devote  this  paragraph  to  the  case  of  Rev.  J.  E. 
Gardner,  a  very  worthy  preacher  of  the  Missouri  Confer- 
ence of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  on  Utica  cir- 
cuit, Livingston  county,  Mo.,  during  the  occurrence  of  the 
events  here  noted.  In  1860  he  had  been  the  object  of 
various  threats  from  the  secessionists,  especially  from  some 
of  the  Southern  Methodists.  A  committee  of  three  called 
at  Mr.  Gardner's  house,  informing  him  that  he  was  charged 
with  being  an  abolitionist,  and  with  tampering  with  negroes. 
After  considerable  parleying,  by  the  committee,  he  received 
the  following  notice : 

"  UTICA,  Mo.,  December  20,  1860. 

"  MR.  GARDNER — Sir :  At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of 
Livingston  county,  Mo.,  it  was  unanimously  resolved,  that 
notice  be  given  you  that  your  longer  residence  in  our  county 
is  not  desired  by  our  citizens,  and  that  you  be  required  to 

8  Central  Christian  Advocate,  June  26,  1861. 


EVENTS  IN  JUNE,  1861.  283 

leave  this  county  within  three  days  from  this  date."  Signed 
by  Charles  Cooper,  and  thirty-seven  other  names.  Of  these 
four  at  least  were  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  South. 

After  considerable  interchange  of  sentiments,  it  was 
thought  best  not  to  exact  immediate  obedience  to  their  de- 
mand. But,  January  3,  1861,  while  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gardner 
were  busy  with  their  domestic  concerns,  a  friend  came  and 
informed  them  that  the  mob  was  collecting.  They  soon, 
came  to  the  house,  armed  with  rifles,  shot-guns,  revolvers, 
and  knives.  Mr.  Gardner  hastened  to  the  house,  bolted  the 
door,  and  stood  in  a  position  to  defend  himself.  Some 
cried.  "Burst  in  the  door,"  others  vociferated,  "Break  in 
the  windows."  One  Cooper  gave  Mr.  Gardner  ten  minutes, 
by  his  watch,  to  decide  to  leave  the  county  within  twenty- 
four  hours,  or  to  have  the  house  burned  over  his  head,  and 
he  ordered  a  bunch  of  hay  to  be  brought  for  kindling  the 
fire.  However,  as  the  mob  could  not  agree  among  them- 
selves, the  fulfillment  of  the  threat  was  not  then  put  into 
execution. 

In  the  afternoon  Mr.  Gardner  had  occasion  to  go  to 
Utica,  to  adjust  his  affairs,  as  he  purposed  leaving  as  soon 
as  possible,  under  the  instruction  of  the  Savior,  "  When 
they  persecute  you  in  one  city,  flee  to  another."  As  he 
was  conversing  in  a  store,  one  Austin,  a  Southern  Method- 
ist, slipped  out  and  informed  the  mob  where  he  was.  Be- 
fore he  was  aware  of  it,  he  was  surrounded  by  the  mob, 
insulted  and  abused,  and  preparations  were  made  to  take 
him.  Mr.  Gardner,  seeing  no  chance  to  defend  himself, 
went  out  of  the  store  through  the  back  way.  He  was  there 
immediately  surrounded  by  the  rabble,  who  came  upon  him 
with  drawn  revolvers.  He  was  immediately  seized,  a  "Lin- 
coln rail"  was  ordered,  upon  which  they  violently  forced 
him,  and  proceeded  to  ride  him  on  the  rail.  They  shrieked 


28-i  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

like  fiends,  and  shouted  tumultuously,  "  Northern  preacher," 
*' Lincolnite,"  "Nigger  thief;"  while  some  were  clamorous 
for  tar  and  feathers,  others  shouted  for  a  rope. 

Mr.  Gardner,  as  they  carried  him  along,  commenced  ex- 
torting them  to  flee  the  wrath  to  come,  and  preached  Christ 
to  them.  Afterward  he  sung,  with  animation: 

"  Children  of  the  Heayenly  King, 
As  we  journey  let  us  sing,"  etc. 

Some  tried  to  mock.  One  Schafer  swore  "  he  would  make 
him  shut  his  mouth,"  at  the  same  time  striking  him  with  a 
large  piece  of  ice  on  the  shoulder-blade,  crippling  him  for 
the  time  being.  They  then  called  a  halt,  and  let  Mr.  Gard- 
ner down,  to  consider  what  further  measures  they  would  take. 

About  this  time  Mrs.  Gardner  left  her  sick  daughter  Allie 
with  a  lady  friend,  and  made  her  way,  through  snow  eight 
inches  deep,  into  town,  in  order  to  do  what  she  could  to 
relieve  her  husband.  She  walked  boldly  into  their  midst, 
through  horrid  oaths  and  threats,  and  demanded  the  deliv- 
erance of  her  husband,  informing  them  that  she  would  have 
him  released  or  die  with  him.  Through  the  interposition 
of  two  men,  John  Harper  and  William  Wells,  he  was  per- 
mitted to  go  home,  accompanied  by  them.  They  advised 
him  to  leave  as  soon  as  possible,  as  it  would  be  unsafe  for 
him  to  stay.  Mr.  Gardner  giving  assurance  to  these  gentle- 
men, to  carry  to  the  rabble,  that  he  would  go  away,  he  was 
left  unmolested  for  the  night.  Friday,  January  4th,  Mr. 
Gardner  and  family  left  Utica  and  went  to  the  country. 

Mr.  Gardner  afterward  commenced  a  suit,  in  Chillicothe, 
against  the  leaders  of  this  gang  of  outlaws,  but  a  mob  was 
collected,  and  compelled  Squire  Hughes,  before  whom  the 
case  was  to  be  tried,  to  burn  the  papers.  Thus  there  was 
no  law,  in  Utica  or  Chillicothe,  to  protect  persons  belonging 
to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Dr.  M'Anally,  in  his  paper  of  April,  called  in  question 


EVENTS  IN  JUNE,  1861.  285 

the  facts  narrated  in  this  case,  and  some  three  anonymous 
writers  in  his  columns  joined  in  the  denunciation  of  Mr. 
Gardner.  These  anonymous  letters,  in  themselves,  showed 
they  were  truly  apocryphal,  and  the  editor  of  the  St.  Louis 
Christian  Advocate  declined  giving  the  names  of  the  authors, 
although  he  published  their  misrepresentations.  Mrs.  Gard- 
ner, in  her  reply  to  Mr.  M'Anally,  showed  that  these  bar- 
barities would  not  have  been  perpetrated  "had  it  not  been 
for  Rev.  J.  Austin,  of  the  Church  South,  who  came  to  Utica 
and  taunted  the  rabble,  and  spared  no  argument  to  provoke 
them  to  madness,  all  of  which  the  reverend  gentleman  did 
not  pretend  to  deny  when  called  upon  in  the  presence  of 
witnesses."9 

6.  Paul,  writing  to  the  Galatians,  exclaimed,  "0,  foolish 
Galatians,  who  hath,  bewitched  you?"  Gal.  iii,  1.  He 
then  asks:  "Are  ye  so  foolish?  Having  begun  in  the  Spirit 
are  ye  now  made  perfect  by  the  flesh?"  The  Greek  word 
Baffxaivw,  rendered  bewitched,  occurs  only  in  this  place  in 
the  New  Testament.  Greenfield  defines  it  to  deceive  by  magic 
arts,  bewitch  with  the  eye,  fascinate,  mislead  by  delusive  pre- 
tenses. It  may  mean  to  deceive  or  mislead  by  any  means  or 
in  any  way. 

The  word  foolish,  dvoyrot,  means  a  want  of  intellectual 
culture  or  exercise.  See  Luke  xxiv,  25;  Romans  i,  14; 
1  Tim.  vi,  9;  Titus  iii,  3. 

"A  little  leaven  leaveneth  the  whole  lump."     Gal.  v,  9. 

•Thus,  in  a  controversy  between  our  preachers  and  a  vicious,  infuriated,  perse- 
cuting mob,  we  always  know  where  to  find  these  unpolitical  apostles  of  a  pseudo- 
Methodism.  Invariably  their  divine  visages  shine  out  from  the  midst  of  those  who 
shriek  and  howl,  and  carry  the  tar,  the  ropes,  bludgeons,  bowie-knives,  revolvers, 
and  other  like  civilizing  implements;  and  any  of  this  spiritual  fraternity  who  find 
it  inconvenient  to  be  present  on  these  gala  days  take  pleasure  in  their  studios  in 
either,  1.  Indorsing  and  approving  the  mob ;  or,  2.  Showing  the  just  provocations 
of  the  mobocrats,  bringing  forward  circumstances  palliative  of  their  outrages,  and, 
with  pastoral  affection,  apologizing  for  the  playful  didos  of  their  herds;  or,  3.  They 
flatly  deny  the  statements  made  by  the  persecuted  or  their  friends  as  to  the  shame- 
ful abuses  suffered. — EDITOR. 


286  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

With  the  Galatians  there  was  a  gradual  work  of  deteri- 
oration. It  began  small,  proceeded  gradually  and  imper- 
ceptibly, but  the  final  effect  was  a  total  infection  of  the 
man.  The  Galatians,  beginning  in  the  Spirit,  ended  in  the 
flesh. 

So  it  was  with  the  Southern  States  and  Churches.  Be- 
ginning in  liberty,  professedly,  they  ended  in  oppression. 
The  civil  power  led  the  way,  and  the  Southern  Churches  fol- 
lowed. The  State  commanded,  the  Churches  obeyed.  Pol- 
iticians said,  "You  must  not  meddle  with  politics."  The 
ministers  agreed  to  it.  This  non-interference  with  politics 
meant  simply  a  cessation  from  discussing  the  moral  phases 
of  civil  or  public  affairs.  Applied  to  "the  peculiar  institu- 
tion" of  the  South  it  meant  the  abandonment  of  at  least 
three  of  God's  commandments,  as  "Thou  shalt  not  steal," 
"Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery,"  "Honor  thy  father  and 
thy  mother,"  etc.  Slavery  steals  from  the  slave  his  liberty, 
his  self-control,  the  use  of  himself.  No  true  marriage  can 
exist  among  the  4,000,000  American  slaves.  But  the 
Churches  in  the  South  were  voluntarily  silent  on  these 
great  sins;  Church  and  State  united  in  the  monstrous  im- 
morality. Death  to  the  individual  was  the  Bible  penalty 
for  man-stealing.  Political  and  ecclesiastical  death  smote 
the  State  and  the  Church  for  the  same  crime.  Hence  a 
terrible  scourge,  if  not,  indeed,  the  destruction  of  Southern 
political  and  ecclesiastical  corporations,  is  now  pending, 
while  we  write,  October,  1864. 

7.  The  Missouri  State  Journal,  edited  by  a  Southern 
Methodist  local  preacher,  a ,  native'  of  South  Carolina,  by 
the  name  of  Tucker,  pleaded^  the  cause  of  the  rebels  with 
much  zeal.  Among  a  thousand  other  falsehoods  he  says : 

"  Observe,  a  war  of  extermination  is  waged  against  sov- 
ereign States,  for  no  other  reason  than  that  they  have 
chosen,  for  solemn  cause,  to  exercise  that  original  right 


EVENTS  IN  JUNE,  1861.  287 

of  self-government — the  right  to  modify,  change,  or  abolish 
their  form  of  government  at  pleasure." 

This  deluded  man  seems  to  have  gone  so  far  in  vice  as  to 
have  lost  from  his  being  the  sense  or  test  of  it,  and  so  be- 
lieved he  was  right.  The  evil  leaven  of  error  had  so  leav- 
ened his  intellect,  moral  feelings,  and  passions,  that  he 
seemed  already  past  cure.  We  account  for  his  condition 
on  a  principle  in  the  philosophy  of  mind,  which  explains 
the  nature  of  disordered  intellectual,  pathematic,  and  moral 
operations.  John  Brown  was  similarly  affected,  but  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  question,  which  shattered  Mr.  Tucker. 
In  New  England,  at  one  time,  they  put  "witches"  to  death. 
Devout  Catholics  tortured  the  lives  out  of  Protestants  as  a 
religious  duty.  In  the  South,  Calhoun's  political  mania 
ruled  the  hour,  and  drove  Southern  Methodists,  and  most 
other  Churches,  into  similar  mental  aberrations  and  moral 
obliquities. 

This  Joseph  W.  Tucker  went  so  far  in  instigating  and 
defending  rebellion  that,  on  the  14th  of  June,  he  was  ar- 
rested by  Deputy  United  States  Marshal  Tunnecliff,  upon 
warrant  of  United  States  Commissioner  Hickman,  issued  on 
the  affidavit  of  John  D.  Stevenson,  for  treasonably  giving 
aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy  by  writing  and  publishing 
articles  in  their  interest,  and  hostile  to  the  American  Gov- 
ernment. He  gave  $10,000  bail  to  answer  before  the  proper 
court.  His  friends,  however,  fell  into  spasms  of  grief  and 
rage  because  he  could  not  be  at  liberty  to  use  all  his  pow- 
ers openly  for  the  destruction  of  that  benign  Government 
which  protected  his  graceless  neck,  had  from  his  birth 
sheltered  him  with  its  certain  safeguards,  and  blessed  him 
with  its  liberal  citizenship  and  social  immunities. 


288  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

JULY  TO  OCTOBER,    1861. 

1.  AFTER  the  6th  of  November,  1860,  persecution  was 
renewed  against  our  ministry  and  people.  Surveying  the 
various  districts  in  the  Missouri  Conference,  we  saw  multi- 
plied desolations  made  in  our  spiritual  field  by  unjust  inva- 
sions of  our  rights  as  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  of 
Missouri. 

The  St.  Louis  district  may  first  be  noticed.  There  was 
no  molestation  in  St.  Louis.  Some  of  our  people,  however, 
left  in  anticipation  of  disturbance.  Others  were  out  of  em- 
ploy, and  in  consequence  of  the  rebellion  could  scarcely 
support  themselves.  But  in  other  portions  of  the  St.  Louis 
district  our  religious  services  were  for  the  most  part  sus- 
pended. The  presiding  elder,  Rev.  Samuel  Huffman,  in 
this  exigency,  took  a  chaplaincy  in  the  Sixth  Regiment  of 
Missouri  volunteers,  under  Colonel  Bland,  and  was  of  great 
service  in  the  army,  in  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  State, 
a  region  included  in  his  district. 

On  De  Soto  circuit,  Rev.  F.  S.  Beggs,  for  three  months 
previous  to  this  time — July,  1861  —  was  prevented  from 
holding  meetings,  except  occasionally  at  De  Soto. 

Rev.  J.  Linan  was  driven  from  Jackson  circuit,  with  the 
necessity  of  leaving  his  family  there  alone  for  several 
months.  He  returned  only  when  under  the  protection  of 
United  States  troops,  but  even  then  he  could  hold  no 
meetings. 


JULY  TO  OCTOBER,  1861.  289 

Rev.  J.  E.  Baker  was  driven  away  from  Fredericktown 
circuit.  Rev.  W.  A.  Pile,  who  was  stationed  at  the  Boat- 
man's chapel,  entered  the  army  as  chaplain,  and  continued 
to  do  eminent  service,  rose  on  his  own  merits  to  the  grade 
of  General,  and  now  heads  Missouri's  Congressmen. 

On  Jefferson  City  district  religious  services  were  almost 
entirely  discontinued.  The  presiding  elder,  Rev.  N.  Shu- 
mate, was  pursued  and  often  waylaid,  but  by  great  skill, 
energy,  and  bravery  escaped  with  his  life.  A  survey  of  his 
case  is  given  elsewhere. 

In  short,  at  this  time,  religious  services  could  be  kept  up 
in  our  Church  in  very  few  places.  The  details  can  scarcely 
be  given  in  our  limited  pages.1 

Under  date  of  July  10,  1861,  in  detailing  these  persecu- 
tions, we  penned  the  following  paragraphs,  which  we  now — 
December  21,  1864 — reproduce  : 

"  Let  our  friends  write  to  us,  and  let  us  know  how  our 
affairs  in  Missouri  are.  The  experience  of  the  past  has 
taught  the  persecutors  that  the  plan  of  killing  people  is 
neither  safe  to  themselves  nor  reputable  to  their  cause. 
Hence,  as  cowards  and  unprincipled  men,  they  have  had 
recourse  to  the  dastardly  mode  of  rail-riding,  warning  to 
leave  and  the  like,  and  threats  of  death.  If  this  does  not 
intimidate  men  it  does  women  and  children,  and  many  have 
left  Missouri  to  preserve  the  peace  of  their  families.  We 
advise  our  friends  in  Missouri  to  join  and  get  arms  from 
the  United  States  authorities,  or  procure  them  as  best  they 
can.  Our  brethren  who  have  done  this  have  been  able  to 
keep  their  ground.  We  instance  the  case  of  brothers  Shu- 
mate, Lee,  and  Huffman,  who  have  armed  themselves ;  and 
we  hope  while  they  pray  and  preach  they  will  keep  their 
powder  dry.  Let  them  carry  their  arms  with  them,  if  need 
be,  to  their  appointments,  and  use  them  when  necessary. 

*See  Central  Christian  Advocate,  July  10,  18G1. 

25 


290  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

If  the  United  States  are  too  slow,  let  them  go  on  the  score 
of  self-defense,  the  first  law  of  nature,  and  therefore  the 
first  law  of  God.  We  hope  our  refugee  Union  men, 
preachers  as  well  as  others,  who  have  left  the  State  will 
return  and  occupy  their  former  positions.  Let  each  bring 
with  him  a  revolver  and  double-barreled  rifle,  practice  well 
loading  and  shooting,  and  stand  up  for  his  rights.  As 
there  is  just  now  no  civil  protection  before  the  courts  in 
Missouri,  or  as  it  is  evaded  by  mob-law,  our  own  right 
hands  must  meet  the  mobs.  Let  all  be  done  without  malice 
or  revenge.  Let  the  protection  of  our  persons,  our  wives, 
children,  and  the  weak  be  our  solemn  purpose  and  work  ; 
and  if  the  self-protecting  act  involves  the  death  of  a  murder- 
ous assaulter,  let  the  example  of  our  civil  judges,  where  law 
is  in  exercise,  be  our  guide.  While  he  pronounces  the  sen- 
tence of  death,  he  utters  the  prayer,  MAY  GOD  HAVE  MERCY 
ON  YOUR  SOUL  !  Go  and  do  likewise  !" 

2.  The  disloyal  press  of  Missouri,  in  July,  was  very  per- 
sistent in  favor  of  the  rising  Confederacy. 

The  Missouri  Republican  occupied  both  sides  as  usual, 
but  fully  prepared,  as  a  matter  of  choice,  to  be  the  avowed 
pleader  for  the  rebels  whenever  any  prospect  of  success  for 
their  cause  might  appear. 

The  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate  followed  the  dicta  of 
the  South  Carolina  political  school,  which  was  founded  on 
an  ideal  military  despotism.  In  its  columns  the  Southern 
rebels  are  praised  without  stint.  When  the  United  States 
Government  passes  its  editorial  telescope,  all  is  disorder, 
confusion,  and  tending  to  certain  ruin.  Great  defeats  are 
observed  to  have  just  taken  place,  or  discerned  as  about  to 
happen. 

He  played  into  the  hand  of  the  editor  of  the  Missouri 
State  Journal,  with  whom  he  was  manifestly,  though  cov- 
ertly, a  confederate,  in  political  and  religious  works  and 


JULY  TO  OCTOBER,  1861.  291 

affinities,  both  being  members  of  the  Southern  Methodist 
Church. 

In  his  selections,  Dr.  M'Anally  was  quite  ready  to  report 
Governor  Jackson's  proclamation,  the  pretended  official  acts 
of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  and  oftentimes,  without  self- 
committal  to  any  thing,  by  his  clippings  taught  that  rebell- 
ion was  for  liberty  instead  of  despotism,  for  right  instead 
of  wrong. 

There  could  be  detected  in  the  editorials  of  the  St.  Louis 
Christian  Advocate  various  indications  of  intellectual  be- 
witchment, a  thing  more  common  in  the  world  than 'many 
suppose.  This  bewitchment  or  deceptive  influence  may  be 
found  in  most  if  not  all  sects  of  religion,  in  all  the  schools 
of  philosophy,  whether  of  mind  or  matter,  and  runs  through 
the  adherents  of  the  various  political  systems.  Such  anom- 
alies as  yet  exist  in  connection  with  religion,  politics,  and 
philosophy.  They  only  who  follow  after  truth  and  right, 
under  Divine  guidance,  will  escape  the  errors  to  which  we 
here  refer. 

The  Missouri  State  Journal  at  this  time  vapored  away, 
throwing  nonsense,  sense,  religion,  secession,  and  rebellion 
into  a  ludicrous  conglomerate.  'Mr.  J.  W.  Tucker,  the 
editor,  was  noticed  in  a  previous  page  as  a  man  partially 
insane  on  the  subject  on  which  he  wrote.  It  was  not  to  be 
doubted,  therefore,  that  his  frothy  and  treacherous  extrav- 
agance would  ere  long  lead  to  a  catastrophe  in  his  editorial 
career.  Accordingly,  about  four  o'clock,  A.  M.,  of  July 
12th,  a  company  of  the  Home  Guards,  of  Colonel  M'Neil's 
regiment,  marched  to  the  office  of  the  State  Journal,  on 
Pine,  between  Third  and  Fourth  streets,  and  seized  the 
weekly  and  daily  forms  of  the  paper.  They  took  away  the 
numbers  printed  and  carried  them  to  the  Arsenal.  The 
order  from  Colonel  M'Neil,  by  order  of  General  Lyon, 
authorized  at  Washington,  stated  "  that  the  Journal  gave 


292  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

aid  and  comfort  to  those  who  are  in  active  rebellion  against 
the  authority  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  by 
its  encouraging  them  to  take  up  arms  agaiust  the  authority 
of  the  United  States,  in  publishing  false  intelligence,  by 
urging  citizens  to  overt  acts  of  treason."  For  months  this 
course  was  pursued  by  the  Journal,  with  a  manifest  pur- 
pose of  building  up  the  Confederacy.  Therefore,  its  sup- 
pression was  a  necessity,  as  a  sober  measure  to  protect  the 
Government  of  the  United  States. 

These  secession  sheets  and  their  friends  claimed,  under 
the  guarantee  of  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press,  a 
right  to  utter  falsehood  and  slander  without  restraint.  But 
this  wantonness  is  well  met  by  Chancellor  Kent,  in  the  fol- 
lowing paragraph  on  the  subject : 

"  That  this  amendment  was  intended  to  secure  to  every 
citizen  an  absolute  right  to  speak,  or  write,  or  print  what- 
ever he  might  please,  without  any  responsibility,  public  or 
private,  therefor,  is  a  supposition  too  wild  to  be  indulged 
in  by  any  rational  man.  This  would  be  to  allow  to  every 
citizen  a  right  to  destroy,  at  his  pleasure,  the  reputation, 
the  peace,  the  property,  and  the  personal  safety  of  every 
other  citizen.  .  A  man  might,  out  of  mere  malice  and  re- 
venge, accuse  another  of  the  most  infamous  crimes ;  might 
excite  against  him  the  indignation  of  all  his  fellow-citizens 
by  the  most  atrocious  calumnies ;  might  disturb,  nay,  over- 
turn, all  his  domestic  peace,  and  imbitter  his  parental  rela- 
tions; might  prejudice  all  a  man's  civil,  and  political,  and 
private  rights ;  and  might  stir  up  sedition,  rebellion,  and 
treason,  even  against  the  Government  itself,  in  the  wanton- 
ness of  his  passions,  or  the  corruption  of  his  heart.  Civil 
society  could  not  go  on  under  such  circumstances.  Men 
would  then  be  obliged  to  resort  to  private  vengeance  to 
make  up  for  the  deficiencies  of  the  law ;  and  assassinations 
and  savage  cruelties  would  be  perpetrated  with  all  the 


JULY  TO  OCTOBER,  1861.  293 

frequency  belonging  to  barbarous  and  brutal  communities. 
It  is  plain,  then,  that  the  language  of  this  amendment  im- 
ports no  more  than  that  every  man  has  a  right  to  speak, 
write  his  opinions  upon  any  subject  whatever,  without  any 
prior  restraint,  so  always  that  he  does  not  injure  any  other 
person  in  his  rights,  person,  property,  and  reputation,  so 
always  that  he  does  not  thereby  disturb  the  public  peace, 
or  attempt  to  subvert  the  Government." 

This  grave  opinion  of  Chancellor  Kent  affords  a  just  and 
sufficient  reason  for  the  suppression  of  the  St.  Louis  Chris- 
tian Advocate  and  the  Missouri  State  Journal  as  papers 
giving  unlawful  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemies  of  the 
Union. 

After  the  suppression  of  his  paper  we  find  Mr.  Tucker  in 
Columbia,  and  other  secession  regions  of  Missouri,  raving 
against  the  Government  and  liberty,  and  pleading  for  rebell- 
ion and  its  evil  acts.  The  excessive  leniency  shown  to  his 
case  in  St.  Louis  seems  to  have  given  him  great  encourage- 
ment to  scatter  firebrands,  arrows,  and  death  elsewhere. 

If  any  doubt  should  be  entertained  of  Mr.  Tucker's  trea- 
son, this  must  be  dissipated  by  his  violent  address  of  De- 
cember 18,  1861,  in  the  Missouri  Argus  extra,  issued  to 
hail  General  Price  and  his  rebellious  army.  We  can  give 
only  specimens  of  the  rebel's  excessive  zeal  for  rebellion. 
Hear  him: 

"CITIZENS  OF  NORTH  MISSOURI!  Hail  to  the  chieftain 
and  his  hosts  who  come  to  wrest  you  from  a  tyrant's  grasp ! 
Hail!  thrice  hail,  my  countrymen  oppressed!  The  day  of 
your  deliverance  dawns!  Freemen  of  North  Missouri,  who 
ne'er  can  bend  the  supple  knee  or  crouch  at  the  tyrant's 
power,  who  have  vowed  to  your  God,  your  country,  and 
your  families  that  you  will  have  liberty  or  death,  while 
I  am  writing  this  9,000  valiant  brothers  from  your  chief- 
tain's swelling  camp  are  crossing  your  noble  river  in  three 


294  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

divisions,  with  a  force  on  foot  behind  just  strong  enough 
to  overwhelm  all  resistance." 

Referring  to  the  troops  of  Price,  Mr.  Tucker  represents 
them  as  coming  to  punish  the  loyal  Germans,  whom  he  calls 
dogs  and  devils. 

"They  come  to  purge  the  land  accursed  by  the  God-for- 
saken followers  of  John  Brown,  and  by  the  Hessian  dogs 
whose  fathers,  for  ten  cents  per  day,  sought  to  bury  freedom 
by  shedding  the  blood  of  our  Revolutionary  sires,  and  by 
the  Union-shrieking,  Home-Guard  murderers,  cowards,  trait- 
ors, and  tyrants,  blind  to  reason,  tories  to  country  and  traitors 
to  God,  dogs  in  principle  and  cut-throat  devils  in  practice, 
associate  with  slaves,  and  drag  angels  down  to  their  own 
base  level." 

Take  another  specimen  from  Tucker: 

"The  subject  must  hereafter  be  treated  according  to  its 
nature;  as  a  hog  is  unfit  for  a  parlor  or  sitting-room,  so  is 
a  Federal  soldier  for  the  treatment  of  a  gentleman,  or  even 
of  a  human  being." 

Our  Confederate  partisan  concludes  his  battle-cry  with  the 
following  poetic  effusion: 

"  To  arms !  to  arms !  your  chieftain  calls ; 
To  arms!  brave  boys,  the  tyrant  falls; 
Awaken  now,  both  sire  and  son, 
And  ere  you  sleep  the  work  is  done." 

After  the  suppression  of  Tucker's  rebel  sheet  his  sub- 
scribers very  generally  took  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advo- 
cate as  a  substitute  in  the  cause  of  rebellion,  and  Mr.  Tucker, 
in  1864,  published  a  high  eulogy  on  Mr.  M'Anally,  in  the 
Southern  Christian  Advocate,  in  which  he  represented  him 
as  always  true  to  the  interests  of  rebels. 

3.  Many  events  transpired  in  the  course  of  the  month  of 
July  which  show  how  terribly  the  cause  of  our  Church  was 
suffering  under  the  influence  of  secession. 


JULY  TO  OCTOBER,  1861.  295 

Rev.  E.  Mudge,  writing  from  Independence,  Missouri,  de- 
scribes the  state  of  things  there  after  the  capture  of  Camp 
Jackson.  From  his  communication  of  June  21,  1861,  we 
learn  he  found  the  Union  men  at  that  time  in  the  majority, 
except  in  Kansas  City;  but  the  Union  men,  then  under  the 
military  control  of  conservative  leaders  put  in  power  through 
the  influence  of  Governor  Gamble  and  his  conservative  as- 
sociates, were  compelled  to  keep  still.  These  conservatives, 
otherwise  secessionists  and  rebels,  used  their  utmost  efforts 
to  send  Union  men  from  the  country.  Some  who  rented 
them  grounds,  if  they  succeeded  in  driving  away  the  Union 
men,  could  obtain  the  growing  crops  for  their  own  use. 
Others  drove  Union  men  away  that  they  might  thus  possess 
their  lands,  recently  bought  and  paid  for  by  cash  put  in  the 
hands  of  these  robbers.  Stealing  was  the  favorite  courtesy 
of  secessionists  toward  loyalists.  Others  would  have  the 
members  of  our  Church  driven  out  that  they  might  make 
a  gain  of  it.  Whole  families  often  were  driven  out  by  in- 
timidation. Yet  for  one  Union  man  thus  driven  out  ten 
would  be  expatriated  should  the  rebels  succeed  in  their 
schemes.  Such  is  the  picture  drawn  by  Mr.  Mudge,  than 
whom  no  one  could  be  more  reliable  for  veracity  and  rec- 
titude. 

Rev.  S.  S.  Wood,  of  Sugar  Creek  circuit,  Missouri  Con- 
ference, under  date  of  July  9,  1861,  wrote  the  following, 
which  appeared  in  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  July 
17th: 

"BROTHER  ELLIOTT, — For  some  time  before  the  arrival 
of  the  troops  at  Rolla  there  was  an  activity  exerted  by 
Jackson  and  his  dupes  which,  had  not  the  Government  in- 
terposed, would  have  run  out  or  have  so  intimidated  all 
Union  men  as  to  have  placed  that  entire  part  of  the  coun- 
try in  the  hands  of  the  secessionists.  Guns  and  ammuni- 
tion were  being  sent  and  deposited  in  various  parts  of  the 


296  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

country.  Companies  were  enlisting  and  drilling  every  day. 
Pamphlets  and  blanks  were  being  sent  to  county  officers 
from  the  Governor,  for  the  purpose  of  compelling  Union 
men  to  take  an  oath  to  support  his  treasonable  movements. 
Two  mule-teams,  six  to  a  wagon,  went  through  Vienna 
loaded  with  guns  and  ammunition.  Seven  cannon  were 
found  buried  in  the  graveyard  at  Holla,  and  taken  up  by 
the  soldiers  after  their  arrival  at  that  place.  All  the  time 
these  preparations  were  being  made  Union  men  were  threat- 
ened, warned  to  leave,  and  that,  too,  at  the  very  shortest 
possible  notice,  giving  no  time  to  them  to  adjust  their  affairs. 
In  one  case  one  of  the  ringleaders  drove  off  a  poor  fellow 
who  had  bought  some  property  from  him,  and  then  bought 
back  the  same  property  for  half  what  he  first  sold  it  for. 
In  another  neighborhood  some  fifteen  or  eighteen  families 
were  driven  off  at  once,  leaving  behind  them  between  sev- 
enty-five and  one  hundred  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  good 
property,  their  crops,  gardens,  orchards  having  just  been 
set.  Mobs  professing  to  be  under  the  Governor  came  upon 
others,  demanding  of  and  taking  from  them  all  they  had, 
and  then  sent  them  off,  homeless,  houseless,  and  friendless. 
A  German  Union  man  living  on  the  Osage,  who  had  a  quan- 
tity of  good  bacon,  was  called  upon  by  a  gang  of  these 
scamps,  who  said  the  Governor  sent  them,  and  after  taking 
all  his  bacon,  and  every  thing  else,  they  ordered  him  to 
leave  the  country.  Others  had  to  lie  out  in  the  woods, 
and  hide  themselves  about  their  dwellings,  and  run  and 
dodge,  day  and  night,  to  save  themselves,  and  that,  too, 
while  the  mob  was  prowling  around  their  houses.  No  law 
was  put  in  force  in  favor  of  Union  men,  nor  any  against 
disunion  men.  Union  men  could  be  insulted,  abused,  in 
person  and  property,  and  no  attention  was  paid  to  it.  But 
a  disunion  man  could  and  did  commit  murder  without  being 
interrupted! 


JULY  TO  OCTOBER,  1861.  297 

"But,  thank  God,  there  is  a  change.  That  which  we 
could  not  do  by  argument,  and  even  tears,  the  Lord  has 
done  for  us  by  the  appearance  of  the  bayonet  among  us. 
Well,  they  will  have  it  so,  and  now  it  is  their  turn  to  run 
or  behave  themselves.  May  God  hasten  the  time  when  wars 
shall  cease,  and  restore  unto  us  that  peace  and  prosperity 
we  once  enjoyed  as  a  people  1" 

4.  Brother  Wood  reached  our  office  July  8th,  on  his  way 
to  Illinois  to  see  his  friends  and  get  supplies.     He  had  only 
twenty-five  cents  in  his  pocket.     Our  office  inmates  made  a 
little  collection  to  pay  his  fare.     He  slept  in  the  woods  sev- 
eral nights  in  order  to  evade  his  pursuers.     We  provided  a 
bed  for  him  in  our  office,  where  he  slept  soundly,  and  we 
had  the  pleasure  of  furnishing  him  with  supper  and  break- 
fast at  our  regular  eating-house.     As  soon  as  he  made  his 
visit  in   Illinois  he  returned  to  his  field  of  labor,  holding 
meetings  wherever  he  could. 

5.  At  the  close  of  July,  Rev.  Joseph  Brooks,  preacher 
in   charge   at   Ebenezer,   St.  Louis,   became  Chaplain  to  a 
regiment.     The  official  members  of  the  charge  requested  us, 
in  his  absence,  to  take  the  pastoral  oversight  of  the  congre- 
gation.    This,  under  the  circumstances,  we  consented  to  do. 
In   a  few    weeks,  as   there   was   eight  hundred   dollars   of 
ground  rent  on  the  church,  due  to  a  Southern  Methodist, 
the  church  was   shut   by  him   for  want  of  payment.     This 
broke  up  the  congregation.     The  one  at  Hedding  was  also 
about  dissolved  in  consequence  of  the  times.     And  Simpson 
Chapel  was  the  only  place  of  worship  open  for  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church  in  St.  Louis,  up  to  March,  1862.    The 
year  1861  was  a  year  of  desolation  for  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  St.  Louis. 

The  rebel  flag  had  been  hoisted  early  in  January,  1861, 
at  the  head-quarters  of  the  minute-men,  on  the  corner  of 
Fifth  and  Pine  streets,  and  was  continued  there  up  to  the 


298  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

middle  of  May.  In  many  parts  of  the  State  the  rebel  flag 
floated  insultingly  in  the  face  of  a  benign  Government.  In 
St.  Louis,  very  few  National  flags  were  to  be  seen  at  any 
time.  The  insignia  of  rebeldom,  however,  were  worn  by 
great  numbers  of  the  citizens,  and,  indeed,  insolently  exhib- 
ited. We  felt  desolate  and  lonely  contemplating  the  dis- 
placement of  the  old  Stripes  and  Stars  by  the  disloyal  Pal- 
metto emblems.  Hence,  on  the  evening  of  July  third,  we 
went  to  a  loyal  store,  and  purchased  a  small  Federal  flag, 
with  thirty-four  stars,  that  we  might  display  the  ensign  of 
the  Republic,  according  to  our  custom  for  nearly  fifty  years, 
on  the  morning  of  the  glorious  FOURTH  OF  JULY.  With  a 
large  needle  and  strong  thread  we  fastened  it  to  a  small 
staff  of  five  feet,  and  thrust  it  out  of  the  window  in  the 
third  story,  and  this  we  did  regularly  every  morning.  It 
was  a  real  feast  after  witnessing  defiant  Palmetto  rags  for 
six  months.  When  Captain  M'Ginnis  and  brother  Huffman 
visited  our  office,  they  took  a  fancy  to  our  flag,  and  bore  it 
away  to  their  camp.  But  brother  Shumate  immediately 
purchased  another  for  us,  as  we  purposed  to  have  the  old 
flag  about  our  premises,  till  we  are  buried  under  its  wav- 
ings.  In  a  few  days  the  boys  in  the  printing-office  made 
up  a  purse  of  eight  dollars,  with  which  was  purchased  a 
very  respectable  flag,  which  was  thrust  out  of  the  window, 
in  the  morning,  daily,  while  our  office  was  continued  in  the 
secesh  Southern  Methodist  Book-Room  building. 

As  a  business  expedient  the  Book  Agents  rented  for  our 
office  the  third  story  of  this  house,  corner  of  Fifth  and 
Pine  streets,  just  opposite  the  head-quarters  of  the  "minute* 
men."  The  flag,  when  hung  out  from  our  window,  floated 
over  the  sign  of  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate,  whose 
office  was  in  the  second  story.  Passers-by  were  wont  to 
observe  that  our  flag  was  a  protection  to  the  secession  ed- 
itor, over  whose  sign  it  waved.  The  truth  is,  there  was  no 


JULY'TO  OCTOBER,  1861.  299 

reference  in  any  way  to  this,  as  it  was  barely  a  symbol  of 
our  own  allegiance,  and  that  of  our  Church,  to  the  lawful 
Government  of  the  United  States.  Our  two  flags,  first  used, 
were,  however,  only  forerunners  of  that  beautiful  one  pro- 
vided for  us  by  the  liberality  and  loyalty  of  the  Illinois 
preachers,  of  which  more  on  a  future  page. 

6.  We  have  gleaned  information  of  many  and  varied 
events  transpiring  in  Missouri,  which  we  will  narrate,  as  far 
as  we  can,  in  chronological  order. 

At  Hannibal,  some  members  of  the  Church,  who  read  the 
Baltimore  Advocate,  misled  by  its  pro-slavery  mania,  be- 
came secessionists  in  Church  and  State.  Many  of  the  citi- 
zens were  compelled  to  leave  the  city  in  order  to  procure  a 
living.  In  consequence,  the  livelihood  of  Rev.  William 
Hanley,  their  preacher,  became  very  precarious.  Provi- 
dence, however,  provided,  the  tide  began  to  turn,  and  to  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  there  appeared  a  sign  of  lib- 
erty of  conscience.  For  wherever,  at  this  time,  in  Mis- 
souri, the  rebel  flag  waved,  there  was  proscription  and 
banishment  for  the  old  Methodist  Church,  which  first 
planted  Methodism  in  the  State.  The  presence  of  the  rebel 
flag  was  also  a  pledge  of  victory  and  privilege  for  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South. 

Rev.  N.  Shumate  took  a  trip,  in  August,  to  Indiana,  where 
his  family  had  fled  for  protection.  He  delivered  many  lec- 
tures, and  enlisted  two  companies  for  the  regiment  of  which 
he  was  Chaplain.  This  was  the  more  needful,  as  Union 
men  were  entirely  rinder  ban  in  Missouri,  except  where 
United  States  troops  or  Home-Guards  were  quartered. 

Many  fugitives  were  constantly  leaving  Missouri  to  avoid 
death  or  the  spoiling  of  their  goods.  In  the  eastern  part 
of  the  State,  the  emmigration  was  soon  checked.  But  in 
the  South-West,  where  the  secessionists  were  in  the  ascend- 
ency, many  Union  men  were  constantly  being  driven  out. 


300  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Many  left  tHeir  all  behind  them.  Few,  however,  were  killed 
at  this  time,  as  the  rebels  feared  retribution.  But  constant 
intimidation  renders  families  so  uneasy,  that  most  fathers 
preferred  leaving  to  having  their  families  in  constant  terror. 
Some  were  compelled  to  sleep  in  the  woods  to  avoid  death, 
or  personal  assaults.  We  instance  the  father-in-law  of 
brother  M 'Donald,  whose  house  was  visited  by  thirteen 
'armed  secessionists,  and  searched  for  him.  He  anticipated 
the  assault  and  retreated  to  the  woods.  The  rebels  left  the 
house,  and  went  after,  but  could  not  find  him. 

The  Missouri  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  South  was  to  sit  this  year  in  Hannibal.  But  the 
Southern  Methodists  were  afraid  to  meet  there,  and  changed 
the  seat  of  the  Conference.  As  Bishop  Pierce  was  to  pre- 
sidej  his  people  seemed  to  be  conscience-stricken.  They 
could  but  remember  how  he  had  breathed  out  slaughter 
against  all  "NORTHERN  METHODISTS"  in  Southern  terri- 
tory, and,  doubtless,  felt  that  such  a  persecutor  of  the 
brethren  could  not  escape  being  whipped  of  justice,  if 
necessary,  by  the  very  stones  of  the  street  rising  up  in 
vengeance  against  him.  A  guilty  conscience  is  its  own  ac- 
cuser. A  Southern  Methodist  wrote  to  us  at  this  time  as 
follows :  "  I  shall  endeavor  to  advance  the  circulation  of  the 
Central.  I  have  no  Christian  fellowship  with  traitors  and 
treason.  Dr.  M'Anally  has  ruined  the  Church  in  this 
country,  and  I  hope  to  see  the  time  when  a  loyal  Church 
shall  occupy  the  entire  ground." 

7.  August,  of  this  year,  was  an  eventful  month. 

The  fallen  state  of  many  Southern  Methodists  is  graph  - 
,  ically  represented,  by  a  Methodist  preacher,  a  native  of 
South  Carolina,  in  a  letter  to  Bishop  Andrew,  published  in 
the  California  Christian  Advocate,  as  follows: 

"Your  prominent  preachers  are  generally  slaveholders. 
He  who  does  not  own  house  servants  is  thought  to  be  rather 


JULY  TO  OCTOBER,  1861.  301 

shabby  and  plebeian.  Talented  young  ministers  do  not 
find  it  difficult  to  get  a  few  negroes  by  marriage.  Having 
itinerated  a  few  years  in  the  South,  I  speak  from  personal 
knowledge.  One  of  my  first  presiding  elders  was  a  talented 
young  man — poor,  but  ambitious.  In  casting  around  him 
for  a  helpmeet,  his  eyes  rested  on  a  young  lady  who  pos- 
sessed a  number  of  slaves;  but  she  was  an  imbecile  in  body 
and  mind.  He  soon  felt  it  proper  to  locate  and  take  care 
of  his  wife,  and  make  his  slaves  profitable.  Another 
preacher,  of  the  same  Conference,  bought  one  slave  child, 
rudely  breaking  the  holiest  and  tenderest  ties  that  unite 
child  and  mother.  The  same  preacher  said  to  my  colleague, 
'Brother,  you  ought  to  purchase  a  nigger.'  'Why?'  'To 
convince  the  people  you  are  not  an  abolitionist.'  In  an  ad- 
joining Conference,  a  young  preacher,  with  burning  zeal 
and  soul  on  fire  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  sinners,  sold  a  child 
eight  years  old,  as  he  needed  money  for  an  outfit  for  the 
itinerancy.  Such  are  not  extreme  cases,  but  of  frequent 
occurrence.  Bishops,  elders,  preachers,  stewards,  exhorters, 
leaders,  and  members  are  alike  implicated.  All  give  the 
weight  of  their  influence  to  rivet  the  manacles,  and  forge 
the  chains  which  shall  hold  their  fellow-men  in  servile 
bondage  to  the  end  of  the  world.  They  traffic  with  impu- 
nity, rudely  breaking  the  holiest  and  tenderest  ties  ordained 
of  the  Creator." 

How  fallen !  this  race  of  Methodist  preachers  is  a  mock- 
ery compared  with  those  who  labored  in  the  South  at  an 
early  day! 

On  the  10th  of  August,  the  battle  of  Wilson  Creek  was 
fought,  eventuating  in  the  death  of  General  Lyon.  He  was 
gallantly  leading  his  host  in  a  charge  upon  the  flying  foe, 
had  just  grasped  victory  with  a  resolute  hand,  when  chief- 
tain and  charger,  smitten  by  the  same  leaden  volley,  both 
fell  in  glorious  death.  With  the  heroic  General,  the 


302  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

courage,  hope,  and  strength  of  his  devoted  soldiery  seemed 
to  expire.  The  enemy,  by  force  'of  numbers,  turned  and 
wrested  victory  from  the  true  conquerors,  bowing,  paralyzed 
with  grief,  over  their  dying  commander.  Lyon  was  greatly 
loved  and  confided  in  by  the  Union  people  of  Missouri,  and 
his  death,  at  this  critical  juncture,  filled  them  with  grief 
and  consternation.  To-day,  they  pronounce  his  name  with 
accents  of  veneration  and  love. 

Rev.  J.  E.  Baker,  of  Fredericktown  circuit,  Missouri 
Conference,  and  Rev.  Thomas  Reed,  of  the  Arkansas  Con- 
ference, were  driven  from  their  work  and  their  homes,  and 
made  their  way  to  Benton,  Illinois.  Mr.  Baker  was  so  for- 
tunate as  to  have  his  wife  with  him.  Mr.  Reed  was  com- 
pelled to  leave  his  wife  in  Arkansas,  and  was  forbidden  to 
see  his  family  under  penalty  of  death.  Such  is  the  free- 
dom of  the  South,  a  freedom  to  drive  good  men  from  their 
homes  and  families,  because  they  are  for  the  Government 
that  guarantees  political  and  religious  liberty. 

Rev.  S.  S.  Wood,  under  date  of  August  17th,  wrote  to 
us  as  follows,  from  Millersburg,  Bond  county,  Illinois : 
"We  have  the  fourth  company  organized,  in  Bond  county, 
reported,  and  received,  and  ready  to  march  to  Springfield, 
Thursday  next.  This  may  serve  to  answer  the  question 
why  I  did  not  return  to  Rolla,  and  join  Rev.  S.  Ing's  com- 
pany. As  we  have  succeeded  so  well  I  will  remain  with 
this  company,  unless  brother  Ing's  boys  think  they  can  't 
dp  without  me ;  then  my  company  say  they  will  give  me  a 
transfer.  I  have  no  commission  in  this  company,  do  n't 
expect  any.  It  is  commission  enough  for  me  for  my  chil- 
dren to  know  that  their  father  fought  to  sustain  the  Gov- 
ernment that  their  grandsires  bled  and  died  to  establish. 
It  is  enough  for  me  to  know,  when  I  am  dead  and  gone, 
my  children  will  have  the  same  Stars  and  Stripes  waving 
over  their  homes  that  my  father  gave  me  to  wave  over  and 


JULY  TO  OCTOBER,  ISC,  I.  303 

protect  mine.  Let  ray  children  have  the  same  country,  the 
same  Constitution,  the  same  banner,  and  the  same  liberties 
that  I  have  had  and  enjoyed,  especially  when  I  know  it  is 
the  best  the  world  ever  knew. 

"  The  death  of  General  Lyon  has  created  a  deep  feeling 
among  the  people  here.  I  do  hope  our  Government  will 
let  no  more  of  our  men  be  killed  for  want  of  reenforce- 
meuts.  We  have  the  men,  means,  and  cause,  why  can  't  we 
bring  them  into  action  ?  I  am  afraid  we  depend  too  much 
on  our  strength,  without  properly  laying  that  strength  out. 
Our  clerks,  students,  and  merchants  are  not  sufficient  to 
contend  with  the  farmers  of  the  South,  especially  when 
they  outnumber  us  in  every  engagement.  Our  hardy  peas- 
ants must  turn  out,  and  that  to  a  man.  I  am  almost  satis- 
fied that  they  have  spies  all  over  our  country,  and  know 
our  strength  and  movements  as  well  as  we  do,  afid  they 
intend  to  whip  us  before  they  are  ready  to  fight;  hence 
they  have  pressed  every  one  into  the  service  that  can  bear 
arms,  and  if  we  will  all  turn  out  that  can  go,  and  make  no 
frivolous  excuse  about  our  business,  etc.,  we  will  whip  them 
right  out,  and  drive  them  down  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and 
make  them  knock  under  or  take  water.  We  have  four 
Methodist  preachers  in  our  company — Rev.  G.  U.  Keever, 
Captain ;  Rev.  T.  L.  Vest,  of  Southern  Illinois  Conference, 
First  Lieutenant;  Rev.  James  N.  Maxey,  private;  and  my- 
self, Third  Corporal."2 

8.  The  editor  of  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate  em- 
ployed all  his  powers  of  sophistry  to  evade  every  charge 
of  disloyalty  to  the  Government.  When  he  was  likely  to 
be  arrested  for  his  aid  and  comfort  to  treason,  he  addressed 
to  Major  M'Kinstry,  Provost  Marshal,  August  24,  1865,  a 
letter,  in  which,  among  other  things,  he  says : 

"  That  the  paper  belonged   to  the  Church  of  which  lie 

»  Central  Christian  Advocate,  August  28th,  p.  140. 


304  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

was  a  member,  and  that  as  editor  he  had  charge  of  its 
columns,  offering  the  Marshal  a  copy  to  peruse."  He  also 
states,  "  I  violate  no  law,  civil  or  military,  human  or  divine, 
if  I  know  it.  The  opposition  to  the  paper  I  edit,  originated 
and  is  kept  up  among  bigoted  religious  sectarians,  and  is 
religious,  not  political." 

To  this  Mr.  M'Kinstry,  on  the  25th,  answered,  that 
"  In  these  times  of  political  excitement,  and  heated  dis- 
cussion, and  civil  war,  it  would  be  more  becoming,  as  well 
as  more  consistent,  that  a  public  newspaper  belonging  to 
and  advocating  the  doctrines  and  principles  of  the  Church 
of  Christ,  should  abstain  from  publishing  articles  of  a  po- 
litical character  calculated  to  inflame  the  passions  of  men, 
and  evidently  hostile  to  the  Government  of  the  country. 
You  say,  sir,  that  the  opposition  to  your  paper  '  originated 
and  is  kept  up  among  bigoted  religious  sectarians,  and  is 
religious,  not  political.'  Permit  me  to  inquire  how,  if  this 
be  the  fact,  the  opposition  to  your  paper  arises  among  all 
true  patriots,  whether  members  of  your  own  Church  or  iu 
any  way  interested  in  it  or"  not?  I  have  read  and  perused 
the  paper  heretofore,  and  am  aware  of  the  nature  of  its 
contents. 

"  You  say  you  violate  no  law  if  you  know  it.  Did  it 
never  occur  to  you  that  patriotism  is  enjoined  in  the  Bible, 
and  that  the  publication  of  seditious  and  treasonable  lan- 
guage, particularly  when  cloaked  in  the  garb  of  religion,  is 
one  of  the  most  heinous  and  aggravated  forms  of  violation 
of  Divine  law?" 

The  Marshal  then  exhorts  him  to  confine  himself  to  the 

proper  sphere  of  a  religious  paper,  and  should  he  do  so,  it 

would  never  come  under  the  discipline  of  his  department. 

On  this  occasion  we  penned  the  following  paragraphs : 

"  That  the   St.   Louis  Christian  Advocate  is  a  secession 

paper  we  believe,   for  the   following  reasons:    1.   It  is  the 


JULY  TO  OCTOBER,  1861.  305 

organ  of  a  Church  which  has  lent  all  its  influence  to  promote 
the  rebellion  by  the  approbation  of  nearly  all  its  leading 
members  and  its  press.  2.  The  Southern  Methodist  papers 
have  indorsed  the  St.  Louis  paper  as  true  to  the  interest  of 
secession.  3.  Its  version  of  the  events  of  the  last  ten 
months  has  been  on  the  side  of  rebellion,  and  against  the 
Government  of  the  United  States.  4.  The  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  who  are  Union  men, 
pronounce  the  paper  a  secession  sheet.  5.  And  the  seces- 
sionists of  the  Southern  Church  recognize  it  as  on  their  side 
of  the  question.  6.  As  far  as  I  have  learned,  all  impartial 
persons  consider  the  paper  in  question  as  hostile  to  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  and  affiliating  with  its 
enemies. 

"  Mr.  M'Anally  says  he  violates  no  law  if  he  knows 
it.  This  is  a  favorite  figure  of  speech  with  him,  as  his 
studied  style  seems  to  be  to  use  words  in  such  a  sense  as 
to  avoid  being  detected  in  what  he  does  say.  We  are 
really  at  a  loss  to  know  how  any  man  now  can  attempt  to 
take  a  neutral  course,  except  in  view  of  destroying  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States.  All  who  are  not  for  it,  at 
this  time,  are  against  it.  Therefore,  to  declare  neutrality 
is,  in  fact,  to  practice  hostility.  So  we  believe  all  honest 
men,  not  bewildered  with  mystification,  consider  this  to  be 
the  case.  And  in  this  light  the  Marshal  considers  the  sub- 
ject. The  Twenty-Third  Article  of  religion,  both  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  South,  places  this  in  a  very  clear  light.  It  re- 
quires all  to  support  and  submit  to  the  civil  government 
under  which  they  live. 

"  We  can  not  at  this  time  utter  any  uncertain  sound 
while  the  enemies  of  our  country  are  engaged  in  destroying 
the  best  Government  in  the  world.  The  aim  is  to  destroy 
liberty  and  promote  a  military  despotism  of  the  worst  sort. 

26 


306  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

It  commences  with  secession,  that  is,  the  disintegration  of 
the  parts  of  the  country  necessary  to  support  the  whole. 
The  next  step  is  actual  rebellion,  and  this  effected  by  trea- 
son; and  treason  comprises  perjury,  theft,  murder,  and  all 
lawless  violence.  To  us,  indecision  looks  like  neutrality,  as 
to  whether  it  is  right  or  wrong  to  lie,  steal,  deceive,  com- 
mit perjury,  murder,  and  all  acts  of  violence. 

"  We  exhort  Dr.  M' Anally  to  consider  his  ways,  cease  to 
lend  his  aid  to  the  enemies  of  the  country  by  his  indecision, 
as  well  as  in  any  other  way.  It  is  a  scandal  to  any  one, 
bearing  the  name  of  Methodist  or  Christian,  to  be  found 
breaking  down  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  which 
has  proved  so  great  a  blessing  to  the  people  of  this  coun- 
try, and  promises  so  much  good  to  the  whole  human  family." 

We  are  not  alone  in  our  judgment  of  the  disloyal  char- 
acter of  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate.  The  Missouri 
Democrat,  on  the  occasion  of  the  correspondence  between 
its  editor  and  the  Marshal,  says :  "  The  St.  Louis  Christian 
Advocate  has  been  doing  all  it  could  in  a  quiet  way  to 
benefit  the  rebels."  This  accords  with  the  judgment  of  the 
Marshal,  as  expressed  in  the  correspondence.  In  short, 
this  paper  has  been  considered  by  all  loyal  men,  and  even 
disloyal  persons,  as  a  supporter  of  the  Confederate  Govern- 
ment and  an  opponent  of  the  National  Union.  A  long  list 
of  quotations  could  be  adduced  on  this  point. 

9.  Rev.  D.  David,  whose  circuit  was  in  Northern  Mis- 
souri, partly  in  Holt  and  partly  in  Nodaway  county,  preached 
with  great  earnestness  on  his  circuit,  without  saying  any 
thing  about  slavery.  But  as  he  belonged  to  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  that  was  crime  enough.  While  his  con- 
gregation was  assembling,  some  forty  secessionists  were  dis- 
covered on  their  way  to  assault  him.  The  preacher  had 
just  time  to  retreat,  and  ran  into  a  corn-field  near  at  hand. 
They  had  arms  and  a  rope,  and  came  swearing  that  they 


JULY  TO  OCTOBER,  1861.  307 

would  hang  him.  But  he  happened  upon  a  hollow  stump, 
around  which  some  sprouts  had  grown  up ;  into  this  he 
sprang  and  hid  himself.  In  his  further  retreat,  as  he  was 
crossing  a  narrow  prairie,  his  pursuers  after  him,  he  came 
up  to  a  Union  man  who  was  riding  a  mule,  which  the  gen- 
erous man  let  him  have,  and  leaping  upon  it,  and  putting 
the  animal  to  its  full  speed,  he  escaped  the  cut-throats  and 
arrived  safe  at  White  Cloud,  where  he  found  protection. 
This  zealous  brother  received  one  dollar  and  fifteen  cents 
.on  his  circuit  up  to  that  time,  a  period  of  some  six  months. 

Macon  City  had  some  fifteen  hundred  citizens  at  the  close 
of  1860;  in  August,  1861,  the  population  was  reduced  to 
about  three  hundred.  Our  Methodist  brethren,  who  had  a 
small  Church  there,  with  other  Union  men,  were  dispersed, 
some  going  to  Iowa,  some  to  Illinois,  and  others  to  Kansas. 
This  is  merely  a  specimen  of  what  occurred  in  most  other 
places  in  Missouri. 

10.  The  following  letter  from  Rev.  N.  Shumate  gives,  as 
far  as  it  goes,  a  correct  view  of  things  at  the  State  capital : 

"BROTHER  ELLIOTT, — I  reached  this  city  on  the  5th 
inst.,  and  found  every  thing  quiet  and  orderly,  so  far  as  the 
surface  is  concerned;  but  there  is  manifestly  a  deep  under- 
current of  sympathy  with  the  great  secession  movement  of 
the  South,  but  it  is  held  in  check  by  the  presence  of  United 
States  troops,  who  are  continually  on  the  look-out  for  the 
secesh. 

"  On  Saturday  last  I  visited  our  little  chapel,  and  preached 
twice  to  the  little  remnant  of  members,  and  found  them 
glad  to  see  one  of  their  ministers  among  them  again.  The 
church-house  shows  unmistakable  signs  of  the  violence 
of  Governor  Jackson's  mob.  The  windows  were  literally 
mashed  to  bits,  the  panels  of  the  door  were  broken  in,  the 
window  blinds  completely  demolished,  and  several  of  the 
lamps  broken,  and  the  wall  and  frames  scarred  and  dented 


308  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

by  the  rocks  and  other  missiles  which  they  threw  against  it, 
leaving  traces  of  their  vandalism  which  will  remain  till  the 
church  molders  into  ruins.  The  citizens  of  Jefferson  City 
have,  at  their  own  expense,  repaired  the  house,  and  I  found 
it  in  good  condition.  Our  valuable  brother  Hyatt  was  hold- 
ing his  Sabbath  school  in  the  church,  and  seems  intent  on 
keeping  it  up  at  all  hazards.  I  shall  not  soon  forget  my 
feelings  while  sitting  in  this  sacred  place  during  the  exer- 
cises of  the  school.  I  thought  of  the  late  pastor,  Rev.  Z. 
S.  Weller,  who  stood  at  his  post  amidst  threats  of  violence, 
and  even  death  itself,  from  the  armed  minions  of  the  arch- 
traitor  Jackson  till  his  church  was  demolished,  and  I  said, 
Lord,  has  the  like  ever  been  known  before?  If  so,  when? 
Certainly  not  in  this  land  of  boasted  religious  liberty  and 
toleration.  No,  verily;  to  find  the  like  one  must  travel 
back  to  the  darker  ages  when  it  was  said,  'They  have 
thrown  down  thine  altars,  and  slain  thy  prophets  with  the 
sword,  and^I,  even  I  only  am  left,  and  they  seek  my  life  to 
take  it  away.' 

"But  the  little  brick  chapel  is  not  the  only  object  upon 
which  this  band  of.  Goths  and  Vandals  spent  their  fury. 
Railroad  bridges,  telegraph  wires,  station-houses,  steam- 
boats, and  whatever  else  they  can  lay  their  vile  hands  upon, 
the  ruin  of  which  would  in  any  manner  cripple/  and  injure 
the  country,  they  seize  and  reduce  to  destruction. 

"I  have  just  had  a  conversation  with  a  gentleman  who 
was  moving  from  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Carthage 
battle-ground.  He  says  that  fifteen  hundred  horses  were 
killed  in  that  battle,  and  not  less  than  twelve  hundred  reb- 
els! He  says  that  several  gentlemen  who  helped  to  bury 
the  killed  estimated  the  number  at  two  thousand.  Dead 
bodies  were  found  all  over  the  woods  and  in  the  oat-fields 
for  weeks  after  the  battle.  Some  were  found  several  days 
after  the  fight  who  were  still  living,  though  so  badly  wounded 


JULY  TO  OCTOBER,  1861.  309 

as  not  to  be  able  to  crawl  even,  but  died  soon  after  being 
found.  This  statement  I  give  just  as  I  got  it  from  my 
informant. 

"I  hear  of  nothing  being  done  in  religious  matters  any 
where.  The  clergy  of  this  city  have  all,  or  nearly  all,  sus- 
pended operations.  Only  one  Protestant  Church  besides 
ours  is  holding  meetings  at  present.  The  reason  I  know 
not.  I  am  still  of  the  opinion  that  my  place  is  on  the 
battle-field,  and  unless  things  look  more  encouraging  than 
at  present  I  shall  join  the  army  by  and  by. 

"JEFFERSON  CITY,  August  15,  1861." 

11.  Rev.  John  H.  Cox,  August  28,  1861,  wrote  us  that 
in  the  early  part  of  June  the  Union  men  of  Clark,  Scotland, 
and  Lewis  counties,  North  East  Missouri,  were  organized  as 
Home-Guards,  under  General  Lyon.  Some  fifteen  hundred 
rebels  attempted  to  overwhelm  the  Union  camp  at  Athens, 
Mo.,  but  failed.  We  quote  in  full  the  rest  of  the  letter. 
Brother  Cox  is  a  noble  young  preacher  of  the  Missouri 
Conference,  whose  patriotic  letter,  in  a  paragraph  further  on, 
reads  as  follows: 

"I  have  been  compelled  to  abandon  my  circuit  in  con- 
sequence of  the  rebels,  who  are  now  ravaging  the  country, 
under  the  command  of  the  Greens.  'Jim'  is  General,  'Mart' 
is  Major,  and  I  suppose  'Ab'  is  Brigadier-General.  We  have 
taken  'old  Hallam,'  the  meanest  man  in  this  country,  a  pris- 
oner, and~Tseut  him  to  St.  Louis.  He  was  in  league  with 
those  fellows  who  went  to  brother  Davis's — father-in-law  to 
brother  M'Donald — with  arms  and  rope,  either  to  shoot  or 
hang  the  good  man,  but  he  made  his  escape  by  lying  in 
the  brush  seven  days.  They  have  threatened  that,  if  I  at- 
tempt to  preach  again,  they  will  take  me  out  and  attend  to 
my  case,  but  I  have  sent  them  notice  that  as  soon  as  the 
civil  law  can  put  down  mob-law  /  will  preach,  for  I  was 
sent  here  by  the  Lord  and  Bishop  Morris  to  preach  the 


310  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Gospel,  and  by  the  grace  of  God  and  Colt's  arguments  I  '11 
try  to  fill  the  bill. 

"Doctor,  I  wish  you  would  advise,  through  the  Central, 
what  course  the  preachers  in  the  Missouri  Conference  should 
pursue  till  the  war  is  over.  I  have  not  seen  my  presiding 
elder  this  year;  in  fact,  I  don't  know  that  I  have  one.  I 
shall  never  quit  Missouri  till  the  Church  so  orders,  for  I 
feel  that  it  is  a  privilege  to  suffer  persecution  for  righteous- 
ness' sake,  and  I  can  most  heartily  adopt  the  language  of 
Melville  Cox  when  he  said,  just  before  his  death,  'Though 
a  thousand  fall,  let  not  Africa  be  given  up.'  I  say,  Though 
ten  thousand  fall,  let  not  Missouri  be  given  up. 

"Brother  Elliott,  I  have  traveled  my  circuit  on  foot  foi 
three  months,  and  have  received  but  twenty-five  cents,  and 
that  all  in  cash.  Yet  I  love  the  Missouri  Conference;  my 
heart  has  its  home  here.  I  've  shed  my  tears  with  my 
brethren  here  in  the  brush,  and  lain  with  them  in  the  corn- 
fields. 

"  But  I  learn  that  our  brethren  in  the  free  States  complain 
because  our  membership  remains  in  this  mobocratic  State. 
Let  me  say  to  them  that  a  majority  of  our  ten  thousand 
Methodists  took  their  existence  here ;  all  they  have  of  a 
temporal  character  is  here,  and  they  can  not  dispose  of  it. 
Then,  we  have  all  been  anxious  to  reestablish  our  mother 
Church,  and  it  will  be  replanted  as  surely  as  God  is  its  au- 
thor. I  love  it  dearly,  for  she  is  my  birthright,  and  now 
that  war  is  waged  against  her  I  do  and  will  fight  for  her. 
Again,  beside  our  streams  and  on  our  plains  lie  sleeping 
those  who  taught  us  life's  first  lessons;  there,  too,  are  the 
old  oaks,  the  groves,  the  camp-grounds,  and  rude  school- 
houses  where  many  of  them  were  converted.  I  am  sure 
you  can  not  wonder  we  do  n't  leave  Missouri. 

"P.  S.  This  regiment  marched  to  Camp  Desert — Green's — 
known  as  Sulphur  Springs,  the  place  where  the  notorious 


JULY  TO  OCTOBER,  1861.  311 

Harris,  of  Palmyra  notoriety,  rendezvoused  his  men,  but 
Green  had  gone  out.  I  there  learned  that  thirty-seven 
Southern  Methodist  preachers  had  been  in  that  camp.  I 
got  a  squint  at  one,  Paxton,  a  tool  of  M'Anally's.  If  I  ever 
meet  any  of  these  men  in  heaven  I  '11  look  for  Judas." 

12.  We  alluded,  in  a  previous  paragraph,  to  the  origin 
of  our  flag.  The  one  originating  in  our  office  gave  ordinary 
expression  as  it  hung  out  from  our  window  in  the  third  story 
of  the  Southern  Methodist  Book-Room,  where  strange  cir- 
cumstances placed  our  office  facing  the  head-quarters  of  the 
rebel  minute-men.  On  the  second  floor  was  the  office  of  Dr. 
M'Anally,  who  never  deigned  to  give  us  the  ordinary  salute 
of  a  citizen,  although  we  entered  the  same  front  door  in 
going  to  our  respective  offices,  and  passed  each  other  some- 
times on  the  common  stairway.  On  the  same  second  floor, 
too,  was  the  office  of  the  WAR  BULLETIN,  the  successor  of 
the  condemned  rebel  sheet,  the  Missouri  State  Journal.  The 
matter  was  aggravated,  also,  by  the  large  capital  letters 
stretching  all  along  the  second  story,  from  end  to  end — THE 
ST.  Louis  CHRISTIAN  ADVOCATE. 

Although  our  second  small  flag  was  a  fair  one,  and  sported 
gracefully  and  loyally  on  the  face  of  the  large  rebel  capitals, 
still  it  did  not  come  up  to  our  idea  of  the  real  thing.  We 
wanted  more  expression.  We  wished  to  have  in  striking 
letters,  connected  with  the  flag  or  on  it,  "THE  CENTRAL 
CHRISTIAN  ADVOCATE  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
organized  in  1784  by  Mr.  Wesley."  We  wanted  E  PLURI- 
BUS  UNUM  exhibited  in  a  significant  way,  and  we  wanted  on 
it  Jackson's  declaration,  "THE  UNION,  THAT  MUST  STAND," 
and  such  other  insignia  of  unity  and  liberty  as  would  ex- 
press more  than  words  could  say. 

Accordingly,  on  our  visit  to  the  Illinois  Conference,  sit- 
ting, September  llth,  we  were  presenting  our  ideas  of  the 
matter  to  our  well-tried  friend  Dr.  Cartwright,  and  two  or 


312  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

three  other  brethren,  when,  presently,  a  motion  was  carried 
unanimously,  appointing  a  committee  of  one  from  each  dis- 
trict to  make  a  collection.  The  result  was  that,  in  a  few 
moments,  they  put  in  our  hands  fifty  dollars  for  this  pur- 
pose. We  gave  then,  and  we  now — December  26,  1864 — 
give  them  thanks  for  their  gift.  But  the  spirit  and  patriot- 
ism of  every  member  of  the  Conference  were  such  as  far 
exceed  the  money  value  of  the  flag.  It  was  on  their  part 
a  tribute  to  liberty  and  patriotism,  and  the  National  Gov- 
ernment— THE  UNION. 

On  our  arrival  in  Missouri  again,  we  selected  five  excel- 
lent Union,  Christian,  Methodist  ladies  to  be  the  makers 
of  the  proposed  flag.  These  were:  Mrs.  H.  Kennedy,  Mrs. 
General  C.  B.  Fisk,  Mrs.  S.  Richj  Mrs.  Cummins,  and  a 
fifth.  They  bought  the  material,  and  put  it  together  with 
their  own  loyal  hands.  Our  study  was  not  a  large  flag, 
but  one  of  medium  size,  with  proper  devices.  In  devising 
our  plan  we  examined  all  the  flags  we  had  access  to.  After 
fixing  on  the  size,  the  ladies  purchased  the  best  silk  mate- 
rials to  be  had  in  the  city.  A  gentleman  made  them  a 
present  of  a  constellation  of  stars.  An  artist,  a  good  loyal 
Methodist  brother,  skillfully  proportioned  the  size  of  the 
letters  for  the  mottoes.  The  outline  was  as  follows : 

E  PLUBIBUS  UNUM,  that  is,  one  government  from  all  the 
States.  This  was  placed  on  a  broad  blue  silk  ribbon,  and 
attached  as  a  pendant,  since  there  was  not  room  for  it 
around  the  constellation  of  bright  stars. 

GOD  AND  LIBERTY.  This  was  on  one  side  of  the  flag,  as 
an  avowal  of  liberty,  under  the  immediate  recognition  of 
God  as  its  author. 

SUSTAIN  THE  UNION  was  on  the  other  side,  as  a  Chris- 
tian utterance  of  patriotism,  alluding  to  Jackson's  motto, 
THE  UNION — IT  MUST  STAND.  The  meaning  intended  was 
that  as  Christians  we  should  support  the  Union,  and  if  the 


JULY  TO  OCTOBER,  1861.  313 

commandment  is  not  observed,  then,  under  the  military, 
loyal  authority  the  sword  must  do  its  lawful  work  of  de- 
struction to  evil-doers. 

THE  CENTRAL  CHRISTIAN  ADVOCATE  OF  THE  METHOD- 
IST EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  OF  1784.  This  motto  was  placed 
at  the  foot  of  the  flag,  a  little  abridged.  This  motto  went 
to  say,  that  the  present  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was 
the  same  antislavery  Church  that  it  was  at  its  organization 
in  1784,  with  one  unvarying  testimony  and  protest  against 
the  moral  wrongs  inherently  and  incurably  embraced  in  the 
system  of  American  slavery. 

The  letters  of  the  mottoes  were  wrought  in  superb  needle- 
work, with  blue  silk.  This  splendid  embroidery,  paid  for 
at  the  usual  rates,  would  have  cost  little,  if  any,  less  than 
a  hundred  dollars. 

We  carried  this  flag  to  several  Conferences,  among  them, 
the  General  Conference  at  Philadelphia,  May,  1864.  "We 
purpose  to  use  it  on  special  occasions,  and,  finally,  to  leave 
it,  with  other  mementoes,  to  our  children  and  grandchil- 
dren. And  we  wish  it  to  wave  as  we  are  carried  to  our 
grave,  and  over  our  grave,  when  the  words,  clay  to  clay, 
ashes  to  ashes,  are  uttered  by  the  officiating  minister.  What, 
indeed,  is  so  fitting  as  that  the  flag  which  has  been  the 
emblem  of  liberty  in  life  should  still  wave  over  the  grave 
of  its  friends ! 

So  much  of  the  material  for  the  flag  was  donated,  that 
after  purchasing  all  that  was  necessary,  some  twenty  dollars 
of  the  fifty  remained.  This  sum  we  left  in  the  hands  of 
the  ladies,  to  be  devoted  to  some  Church  purpose.  Instead 
of  that,  however,  Mrs.  Kennedy,  soon  after,  brought  to  my 
office  a  remarkably  fine  morning-gown,  the  material  of  which 
was  purchased  with  this  money.  Of  course,  we  accepted 
the  beautiful  garment  from  their  hands,  and  we  propose  to 
wear  it  while  it  or  we  endure. 

27 


314  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

13.  Early  in  September  of  this  year  the  system  of  passes 
was  established  at  St.  Louis,  and  no  one  could  leave  the 
city  without  one.  Nor  could  any  one  obtain  a  ticket  on  the 
cars  without  a  pass.  Before  crossing  the  river  on  the  ferry- 
boats, tickets  must  be  presented.  The  same  was  required 
on  all  steamboat  packets. 

The  pass-office  was  on  Fourth-street  and  corner  of  Wash- 
ington-Avenue. The  crowd  of  applicants  was  so  great  for 
a  number  of  days  that  it  was  difficult  to  obtain  one.  He 
was  lucky  who  could  succeed  in  the  course  of  a  day.  On 
Fourth-street,  some  dozen  or  more  soldiers,  with  drawn 
swords,  and  pistols  at  their  belts,  stood  sentinel  to  preserve 
order  and  to  guard  the  access.  The  doors  were  also 
guarded,  and  some  soldiers  were  posted  in  the  room  where 
the  passes  were  issued. 

Having  proposed  to  meet  Bishop  Simps*on  at  Lebanon,  on 
Wednesday,  4th,  we  must,  of  course,  procure  a  pass.  On 
Monday,  2d,  the  press  was  so  great  that  we  made  no  attempt 
to  obtain  one.  On  Tuesday,  we  were  on  the  spot  at  seven, 
A.  M.,  but  when  the  office  was  open  the  crowd  was  such 
that  we  gave  up  the  attempt.  Happily  for  us,  Chaplain 
Davis,  of  Alton,  came  to  our  office,  and  kindly  offered  his 
services.  He  got  us  inside  the  outward  inclosure  of  sol- 
diers, but  we  were  not  allowed  to  enter  the  hall.  The 
CAPTAIN,  however,  as  the  guard  called  the  Chaplain,  might 
enter.  So  he  went  in,  and  after  a  little  time  the  gentle- 
man giving  the  passes  came  out,  received  us  politely,  and 
immediately  executed  our  pass.  We  found  in  him  an 
old  acquaintance,  who  had  read  the  Western  Christian  Ad- 
vocate when  we  edited  it. 

Some  of  our  readers  may  be  interested  in  a  description 
of  our  pass.  It  is  on  a  piece  of  thick  paper,  about  seven 
inches  by  five.  On  one  side,  printed  across  the  paper,  is 
the  DESCRIPTION  OF  PERSON.  On  the  other  side  is  printed 


JULY  TO  OCTOBER,  1861.  315 

the  certificate,  the  lines  running  so  as  to  cross  those  on  the 
opposite  side. 


.    jr   5'   on   ^     q 

1  9.  i  £  a 


«P5Bg.£«SM   ^  s  p  ta  ^  ^ 

if  rf  If!]' l!!l! 
rftfsji;iMn!H 

nifipi^i  i1] 

Cj^tr'as—    S     ct.      5     !?    *      * 

£          StjSa'sgta'ern?         -.        S 
S          §    P    1  S  *  "    I*    g*  g 


V  5       2S       ^*i      —  <•» 

3         5.  -B    §    S.  CD    ^    - 


^"^P^pji-<pjp-<(0 


OTHER  SIDE. 


OFFICE  PROVOST  MARSHAL,     ) 
^<.  XOMW,  Mo.,  September  3,  1861.  J 

Permission  ia  granted  to  BEV.  CHARLES  ELLIOTT  to  pass  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  city  and  county  of  St.  Louis,  to  go  to  Lebanon, 
Alton,  etc.,  to  attend  Conference  at  pleasure. 

J.    M'KlNSTRY, 

Major  U.  S.  A.,  Provost  Marshal. 


Such  is  the  pass.  Death  was  the  penalty  of  taking  up 
arms  against  the  United  States  or  in  any  way  aiding  her  ene- 
mies. This  was  a  most  righteous  decision  in  reference  to 
every  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  any  enjoying  its  pro- 
tection. 

14.  We  here  present  an  editorial  we  wrote  for  our  paper 
about  this  time,  which  contains  statements  pertinent  to  the 
period :  , 

"  This  poor,  incombustible  plant — the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  in  the  South-West — has  been  more  than  once 
apparently  consumed,  but  like  Moses'  '  burning  bush '  it 
has  continued  to  this  day  a  living  existence. 


316  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

"And  we  are  confident  that  the  days  of  its  consuming 
will  come  to  an  end,  and  it  will  flourish  like  the  tree 
planted  by  the  rivers  of  water.  After  instigations  to  mur- 
der our  laborers  in  the  South-West  manifestly  worked  dis- 
repute to  the  instigators,  a  safer  policy  was  adopted.  It  was 
to  rid  Missouri  of  our  people,  improperly  and  falsely  called 
'  Northern  Methodists.'  The  process  of  mob  law  was  en- 
forced by  inflaming  the  low  rabble  for  the  work,  while  the 
undertakers  of  the  business,  as  is  usual  with  'contractors,' 
stood  at  a  respectful  and  respectable  distance  from  the  per- 
formance of  the  vile  '  drudgery.'  All  sorts  of  annoyances 
were  resorted  to.  Warnings  to  leave,  threats  of  violence, 
the  erection  of  gallows,  the  presentation  of  ropes,  intimida- 
tions to  women  and  children,  the  mad-dog  cry  of  'aboli- 
tionist/ 'Black  Republican,'  'Northern  men,'  and  a  thousand 
and  one  other  modes  of  harassment  were  in  requisition  to 
rid  the  country  of  Union  men  and  '  Northern  Methodists.' 
The  process  was  but  too  successful,  and  eventuated  in  mul- 
tiplied expatriations. 

"  Hence,  since  the  first  of  May,  the  religious  services  of 
our  Church  have  been  so  far  suspended  as  to  break  up  the 
regular  appointments  on  the  circuits,  and  few  quarterly 
meetings  have  been  held  for  four  months.  At  this  time  our 
circuits  and  districts,  are  mostly  broken  up.  Some  of  the 
preachers  have  gone  where  life  and  persons  are  safe. 
Others  remain  with  the  remnants  of  their  now  dispersed 
flocks,  who  can  render  them  very  little  for  family  support. 

"  Some  may  conclude  from  this  that  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  is  about  to  become  extinct  in  Missouri.  It 
is  true,  were  the  State  to  become  one  of  the  Confederate 
States,  liberty  of  conscience  could  not  exist  for  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church.  The  Southern  Methodist  would 
be  the  State  Church,  with  such  like-minded  Presbyterians, 
Cumberland  Presbyterians,  Baptists,  and  others  as  would 


JULY  TO  OCTOBER,  1861.  317 

never  say  any  thing  against  political  measures^  however 
corrupt  they  might  be.  The  preachers  would  be  dictated 
to  in  such  matters  by  the  politicians,  as  all  true  Southern 
ministers  never  '  preach  politics,'  but  the  '  Gospel  alone.' 

"  But  as  Missouri  is  in  the  Union,  and  will  be  in  it,  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  as  soon  as  the  laws  displace 
mob  law,  which  has  ruled  here  for  several  years  past,  will 
begin  to  assume  the  place  -and  rank  it  occupied  before 
1844.  c  Southern  Methodists '  are  beginning  to  see  how 
they  .were  misled  by  the  cotton  States'  influence  in  1844 
and  since.  Many  of  them,  what  proportion  we  say  not, 
are  for  the  Union,  and  reject  the  teachings  of  the  St.  Louis 
Christian  Advocate,  which  they  consider  a  secession  jour- 
nal. We  have  this  information  direct  from  various  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  South,  and  we  can  rely  on  it.  We 
have  recently  conversed  with  many  army  chaplains  who 
have  been  in  different  parts  of  the  State,  and  they  confirm, 
the  same. 

"As  soon  as  the  State  becomes  settled,  and  our  ministers 
can  resume  their  labors,  there  must,  of  necessity,  be  a 
reconstruction  of  our  stations,  circuits,  and  districts.  Some 
of  our  banished  and  persecuted  people  will  return.  Many 
will  never  seek  homes  and  altars  in  Missouri  again.  But 
others  will  supply  their  places  at  no  distant  time.  We 
shall  have  full  access v to  the  people  of  the  State  out  of 
whom  to  form  Churches.  Reconstruction  and  reorganiza- 
tion must  be  the  order  of  the  day.  It  will  be  a  time  like 
the  return  of  the  captive  Jews  after  their  captivity  and 
their  restoration.  The  cxxxiii  Psalm  will  be  a  grand 
National  hymn  to  be  sung  when  the  divided  Methodists  of 
Missouri  in  many  places  will  unite  in  this  UNION  HYMN, 
when  schism  in  the  Church  and  rebellion  in  the  State  shall 
have  been  cast  away  and  forgotten  among  the  cantos  of 
Union.  This  will  be  an  era  in  the  history  of  the  Methodist 


318  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Episcopal  m  Church  in  Missouri.  We  can  say  for  one,  we 
were  never  so  much  encouraged  for  Missouri  Methodism  as 
now.  The  field  is  open  and  white  for  the  harvest." 

15.  Several  Conferences  gave  utterance  to  strong  sympa- 
thy for  the  brethren  in   Missouri.     One  in  Western  New 
York,  among  other  resolutions,  passed  the  following: 

"  That  our  loyal  brethren  in  the  border  States  are  deserv- 
ing of  our  profound  sympathies;  that  the  Church  should 
warmly  cherish  her  interest  in  the  border  Conferences,  and 
should  make  liberal  appropriations  of  men  and  money  for 
the  maintenance  in  these  regions  of  a  loyal  Methodism; 
and  that  as  insurrection  and  treason,  warmly  supported  by 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  are  backward 
driven,  the  line  of  our  Annual  Conferences  should  be  ex- 
tended till  the  banners  of  our  Church  as  well  as  the  flag 
of  our  Union  shall  once  more  wave  in  the  breezes  of  the 
Mexican  gulf." 

The  Illinois  Conference  passed  resolutions  expressing 
their  sympathy  and  proffering  aid  to  their  suffering  breth- 
ren in  Missouri.  The  expressions  from  every  portion  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  greatly  encouraged  our 
persecuted  people  in  these  regions. 

16.  At  the  request  of  many  we  wrote  an  address  to  the 
suffering  preachers  and  members  of  our  Church  in  Missouri, 
September  18th,  and  published  it  in  the  Central  Christian 
Advocate  as   the  best  mode  of  reaching  them.     We  now 
reproduce   it   as   the   best  way  of  presenting   the   historic 
reminiscences  of  the  times: 

"  BELOVED  BRETHREN, — We  have  no  formal  ecclesias- 
tical authority  to  address  a  letter  to  you,  but  as  you  are 
now  greatly  scattered  and  separated  from  the  usual  sources 
of  information,  and  as  some  ask  us,  'WHAT  SHALL  WE  DO?' 
we  deem  it  proper  to  furnish  a  few  words  of  exhortation 
to  meet  the  present  distress. 


JULY  TO  OCTOBER,  1861.  319 

"  We  therefore  entreat  all  the  preachers  to  remain,  if 
possible,  in  the  State  and  do  what  they  can  to  be  near  the 
field  of  their  pastoral  labors.  This  is  important  in  order 
to  exhibit  a  true  Christian  courage  as  well  as  to  manifest 
a  readiness  to  do  whatever  can  be  done  where  little,  at 
least  for  the  present,  is  possible.  The  first  preachers  of 
our  holy  religion  had  much  to  suffer  in  planting  the  infant 
Churches  of  Christianity.  Let  us,  therefore,  be  followers 
of  those  who,  by  patience  and  perseverance,  served  their 
God  and  his  people.  Let  us  compare  our  circumstances 
with  theirs,  and  from  the  comparison  let  us  learn  to  be 
sufferers,  and  to  be  steadfast  and  immovable,  knowing  that 
our  labors  shall  not  be  in  vain  in  the  Lord. 

"  To  our  persecuted  people  we  would  say,  as  far  as  lieth 
in  you,  remain  in  Missouri,  and  cleave  to  your  homes  to 
the  last  in  the  use  of  prudent  and  lawful  means  of  protec- 
tion. It  is  your  privilege  as  Christians  and  as  citizens  of 
Missouri  to  protect  yourselves  with  fire-arms  and  other 
weapons  of  defense  from  the  assaults  of  mobs  or  traitors 
to  the  country  as  the  last  resort,  when  the  civil  power  can 
not  or  will  not  protect  you. 

"When  this  dernier  resort  must  be  used,  beware  of 
every  wrong  temper  and  every  wrong  act.  Here  will  be 
need  for  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent,  the  harmlessness  of 
the  dove,  and  the  courage  of  the  lion.  Unite  these  and 
use  them.  Let  forbearance  be  used  as  far  as  it  may  justly 
go.  But  forbearance  toward  assassins  long  continued  ceases 
to  be  a  virtue — it  is  a  crime.  Do  not  commit  it.  Beware 
of  being  driven  away  by  empty  bravado  and  intimidating 
threats.  It  is  time  now  to  have  recourse  to  the  civil  and 
military  arm  for  help  wherever  these  can  be  had.  Treat 
your  neighbors  with  civil  and  Christian  kindness  up  to 
the  point  when  nothing  but  your  arms  of  protection  will 
sustain  you.  Persecute  no  one;  injure  no  one.  Pray  for 


320  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

your  enemies;  but  you  are  bound  to  protect  your  own  lives. 
And  if  you  or  the  assassin  must  fall,  let  his  blood  be  on 
his  own  head.  You  have  delivered  your  own  soul  when 
you  resort  to  this  as  the  last  mode  of  protection.  It  is 
God's  provision.  Use  it  as  such  from  the  hand  of  your 
Heavenly  Father,  who  protects  his  obedient  children,  even 
at  the  peril  of  the  guilty. 

"  Allow  us  to  say  to  our  preachers  and  people,  your  re- 
demption draweth  nigh.  The  State  will  soon  be  completely 
under  the  broad  shield  of  the  General  Government.  The 
State,  too,  we  must  believe,  will  soon  be  able  to  exercise 
its  lawful  State  rights,  and  will,  therefore,  supersede  mobs 
and  violence.  The  days  of  expatriation  are  now,  or  soon 
will  be,  gone.  Your  Churches  will  shortly  be  reorganized, 
and  your  civil  and  religious  privileges  secured.  Have  such 
meetings  as  you  can;  use  largely  family  and  private  prayer; 
read  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  sing  the  songs  of  Zion ;  meet  for 
social  prayer  where  only  two  or  three  can  meet  together; 
let  any  brother  or  sister  deliver  the  word  of  exhortation  on 
the  occasion  as  the  Spirit  giveth  them  utterance.  Consider 
how  long  the  Jews  were  in  Babylon  with  their  harps  hung 
unstrung  on  the  willows.  At  last  Zion  became  vocal  with 
these  harps,  set  to  the  words  of  the  cxxxiii  Psalm — 'Be- 
hold, how  good  and  how  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell 
together  in  unity,'  etc. 

"One  word  more.  Our  brethren  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  South  have  been  misled  and  deceived  by  South- 
ern politicians,  and  are  thus  in  their  present  sad  dilemma. 
Many  of  them  are  now  true  to  the  Union  in  Missouri  to 
our  knowledge.  Many  of  those  misled  will  soon  see  how 
they  have  been  deceived.  Let  any  past  acts  of  theirs  that 
have  pressed  on  you  be  forgotten,  and  exercise  yourselves 
unto  prayer  on  their  behalf,  that  God  would  turn  their 
captivity  and  bring  them  into  a  large  place. 


JULY  TO  OCTOBER,  1861.  321 

"  We  purpose,  with  God's  help,  to  remain  at  our  post  to 
the  last  extremity,  sending  forth  our  weekly  issues  to  you, 
accompanied  with  our  prayers.  And  we  trust  that  the  time 
is  at  hand  when  Missouri  will  be  settled  in  the  same  civil 
and  religious  quiet  which  prevailed  before  its  peace  and 
prosperity  was  disturbed  by  this  invasion  of  principles,  the- 
ories, and  forces." 

17.  The  following  reflections  were  published  as  an  edi- 
torial in  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  September  11, 
1861,  and  were  the  best  utterances  we  could  then  make. 
And  even  now — December  26,  1864 — we  record  them  anew, 
as  testimonials  of  the  state  of  the  country: 

"  We  see  the  General  Government  bestirring  itself  with  un- 
remitting energy.  We  are  not  disposed  to  censure,  although 
we  can  not  overlook  grave  mistakes  which  have  cost  us,  in 
Missouri,  many  lives,  and  have  been  followed  with  great 
public  loss.  Errors  are  inseparable  from  the  highest  trusts 
confided  to  our  best  men.  Yet  we  are  bound  to  use  all 
possible  means  to  remedy  these  errors  in  future.  When 
General  Lyon  was  just  ready  to  seize,  at  the  same  moment, 
the  traitorous  Frost  and  Jackson,  and  their  immediate  aids, 
General  Harney  was  put  in  command,  and  the  Harney- 
Price  truce  was  concocted  as  if  the  conspirators  were  to  be 
aided  in  maturing  and  promoting  their  rebellion.  And 
while  the  Southern  Confederacy  was  pouring  in  its  devas- 
tating troops,  in  order  to  seize  St.  Louis  and  the  seat  of 
government,  General  Lyon  and  our  cause  was  again  sacri- 
ficed for  want  of  some  two  or  three  regiments,  that  were 
almost  within  gunshot  of  the  enemies  who  threatened  the 
life  of  the  State.  Trai'tors  in  our  midst  meanwhile  were 
preparing  their  flags  to  be  raised  in  their  expected  triumphal 
rejoicings  over  the  destruction  of  liberty  in  Missouri. 

"  We  have  reliable  information  that  the  President  was 
very  restless  over  the  peril  of  Lyon.  We  do  not,  however, 


322  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

accuse  General  Fremont  of  intentional  neglect,  nor  yet  Mr. 
Cameron.  The  exposure  of  General  Lyon  was  not  believed 
to  be  imminent  by  these  officials,  nor  by  Lyon  himself  in 
time  to  avert  it.  We  are  supporters  of  the  powers  that  be, 
an(l  not  mere  censors,  although  we  intensely  feel  the  result 
of  unintentional  error. 

"  But  the  General  Government  is  now  acting  in  earnest, 
and  perhaps  could  not  do  so  sooner.  Several  incendiary 
papers  in  the  North,  in  the  pay  or  interest  of  the  rebellion, 
have  been  suppressed  or  warned  to  desist;  although  we 
still  hear  of  some  of  them  claiming  the  right  to  subvert 
the  liberties  of  the  country,  under  the  plea  of  liberty  of 
the  press,  which  with  them  means  liberty  to  destroy  peace 
and  the  Government.  Their  demand  is  for  the  right  to  lie, 
perjure  themselves,  rob,  and  murder.  Hypocrisy  aside,  this 
is  its  meaning. 

"  Several  unprincipled  women — the  Jezebels  and  Ath- 
aliahs  of  the  day — hare  been  restrained  also.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  they  will  not  be  allowed  to  aid  in  murdering  millions 
of  men  and  making  thousands  of  widows,  simply  because 
they  are  women.  Such  leniency,  that  is,  guilty  encourage- 
ment to  murder,  would  be  but  poorly  concealed  under  the 
hypocritical  cant  of  gallantry,  or  the  like. 

"  The  arrest  and  detention  of  sympathizers,  that  is,  co- 
partners with  the  rebels,  seems  now  to  be  assuming  a  seri- 
ous character. 

"  As  our  news  department  shows,  and  we  had  not  room 
for  a  tithe  of  it,  the  Southern,  Northern,  and  Western  por- 
tions of  this  State  have  been  ravaged  by  the  rebels,  and 
the  Union  men  generally  robbed  of  every  thing  movable. 
Nothing  remained  but  martial  law,  and  this  is  now  come. 
Its  sentence  is — and  this  is  the  decision  of  God's  justice — 
DEATH  TO  ALL  WHO  TAKE  UP  ARMS  AGAINST  THE  STATE, 

OR  THOSE  WHO   IN    ANY   WAY   AID  THEM.      This  is  the  Only 


JULY  TO  OCTOBER,  1861.  323 

way  to  have  peace,  even  under  the  God  of  grace  and  peace. 
It  is  the  unchangeable  law  of  Heaven.  Angels  in  heaven 
who  sinned  had  to  be  excluded.  And  the  punishment  of 
hell  is  the  only  allotment  which  the  Son  of  God,  who  died 
for  man,  can  make  to  impenitent  sinners  rejecting  his  mercy 
and  grace.  Every  civil  court  acts  on  this  principle.  And 
when  the  civil  power  is  prevented  by  anarchy  from  punish- 
ing the  guilty,  the  resort  is  then,  in  justice,  to  martial  law. 
"Let  us  just  note  the  retribution  of  Heaven  here.  Mis- 
souri, in  her  days  of  border-ruffianism,  invaded  Kansas  at 
the  instigation  of  men  in  Cottondom;  now  those  disturbers 
of  the  peace  have  left  her  to  her  fate,  to  suffer  tenfold 
of  all  Kansas  ever  suffered.  Kentucky  has  been  neutral, 
namely,  untrue  to  her  National  faith,  and  now  the  very 
confederates  of  her  disloyalty  are  about  to  visitjier  altars 
and  hearths  with  desolation.  Eastern  Virginia  has  disloy- 
ally entered  into  the  ranks  of  wickedness,  and  her  desola- 
tion must  follow,  and  what  awaits  the  cotton  regions  we  are 
at  no  loss,  from  the  analogy  of  God's  government,  to  under- 
stand, and  we  shall  see  it,  if  spared,  when  the  time  comes. 
What  the  Northern  States  may  suffer  for  their  sins  time 
will  also  unfold.  But  LIBERTY,  in  the  end,  will  flourish  in 
these  thirty-four  loyalized  United  States  in  spite  of  all  the 
malice  and  wickedness  of  men.  What  Providence  may  have 
in  store,  by  way  of  correction,  for  the  loyal  States  in  con- 
sequence of  our  sins  we  know  not;  but  we  are  sure  the 
righteous  God  will  not  sustain  the  military  despotism  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy.  Its  days  must  be  short  and  inglori- 
ous, should  it  even  be  recognized,  de  facto,  by  the  United 
States  Government,  and  by  all  the  governments  of  the  Old 
World.  Had  England  at  first  offered  to  the  United  States 
the  service  of  her  array  and  navy  to  put  down  the  rebellion, 
it  would  have  been  in  keeping  with  what  the  United  States 
ought  to  do  for  England  in  like  case.  England  and  France 


324  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

can  not  afford,  however,  to  sustain  the  cotton  king.  Were 
these  Governments  to  do  so,  their  people  would  lose  faith 
in  even  the  good  Victoria  and  the  far-seeing  Napoleon,  and 
allegiance  to  the  people  would  soon  supplant  allegiance 
to  the  Queen  and  Emperor.  In  any  event,  the  tools  and 
diplomatists  of  European  medieval  aristocracy,  cousin  ger- 
man  to  the  new  cotton-military  despotism,  will  be  crowded 
to  their  urns  by  the  destiny  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Let 
the  sons  of  liberty  rejoice,  for  Grod  reigns,  and  liberty  will 
triumph !" 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SOLDIER.  325 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  SOLDIER. 

THE  following  is  from  the  pen  of  Rev.  N.  Shumate,  whose 
adventures  similar  to  those  contained  in  this  brief  letter, 
were  they  all  collected,  would,  of  themselves,  make  a  con- 
siderable volume.  Of  such  a  possible  book  this  may  be 
taken  as  a  sample  chapter,  and  will  speak  for  itself  of  the 
address  and  courage  of  one  who  has  faithfully  defended  true 
Methodism  in  the  South-West  through  many  stormy  years: 

ST.  Louis,  Mo.,  December  26,  1862. 

DR.  ELLIOTT, — You  requested  me,  when  I  last  saw  you, 
to  furnish  you  a  narrative  of  my  last  quarterly  meeting  on 
the  Jefferson  City  district,  together  with  any  other  inci- 
dents of  itinerant  life  in  Missouri  known  to  me.  I  take 
pleasure  in  granting  your  request,  and  if  my  statement  will 
subserve  your  purposes  you  are  at  liberty  to  use  it  as  you 
may  judge  proper. 

My  last  quarterly  meeting  for  Leesburg  circuit  was  held 
at  the  house  of  the  Hon.  Benjamin  Harrison,  in  Crawford 
county,  late  in  March,  1861.  The  public  mind,  at  that  time, 
was  much  excited  on  the  secession  question,  and  those  favor- 
ing that  measure  sought  every  opportunity  for  giving  cur- 
rency to  the  belief  that  the  ministers  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  Missouri  were  the  principal  promoters 
of  the  troubles  which  they  saw  approaching  them.  They 
said  by  the  agitation  of  the  slavery  question  the  peace  of 
the  State  was  destroyed;  the  Northern- Methodists  are  the 
agitators  of  that  question,  and  they  ought  to  be  crushed  out. 


326  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Under  this  conclusion  mob  after  mob  was  formed  to  drive  us 
from  our  homes,  and  the  graves  of  our  families  and  friends. 

Two  weeks  before  the  quarterly  meeting  in  question  a 
mob  had  met  brother  Early,  preacher  on  the  circuit,  at  the 
village  of  Leesburg,  and  chased  him,  with  guns,  hatchets, 
and  bludgeons,  from  the  town,  he  saving  his  life  only  by 
having  a  fleeter  horse  than  his  pursuers. 

The  secession  rabble,  having  succeeded  in  expelling  the 
unprotected  Early  from  the  field,  boasted  that  the  quarterly 
meeting  at  Harrison's  should  not  be  held,  and  accordingly 
they  fixed  for  giving  us  a  grand  rally  if  we  undertook  to 
hold  said  meeting.  But  a  few  wide-awake  friends  got  in 
possession  of  their  plans  and  met  me  at  Leesburg  depot, 
and  gave  me  full  details  of  the  movements  of  the  mob. 
The  brother  who  gave  me  the  information  said  if  I  con- 
cluded to  go  to  the  place  of  holding  the  quarterly  meeting 
I  should  have  all  the  protection  possible  in  the  case- 
Accordingly,  arms  were  furnished  me,  and  a  number  of 
brethren  armed  themselves  and  accompanied  me  to  the 
place.  We  found  quite  a  number  of  persons  assembled  at 
the  house,  among  them  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  mob. 
"When  the  hour  arrived  for  the  services  to  begin,  I  took 
my  place  at  a  table  and  commenced  singing, 

"Though  troubles  assail 
And  dangers  affright, 
Though  friends  should  all  fail 
And  foes  all  unite." 

Perfect  stillness  reigned,  and  at  the  close  of  the  hymn  we 
bowed  in  humble  prayer.  When  I  rose  from  my  knees  I 
saw  several  of  the  mob  look  at  each  other  and  smile;  other- 
wise they  were  orderly.  I  announced  as  my  text,  "  Let 
every  soul  be  subject  unto  the  higher  powers,"  etc.  "  We 
have  come  to  this  place  to-day,"  said  I,  "  simply,  in  the 
discharge  of  our  religious  duty,  to  worship  God.  In  the 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SOLDIER.  327 

enjoyment  of  this  right  we  are  protected  by  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  and  by  the  Constitution  of  the  State 
of  Missouri.  This  we  hold  to  be  an  inalienable  right, 
and  we  intend  to  have  it,  peaceably  if  we  can,  forcibly  if 
we  must;  and  if  we  have  to  fight  or  be  mobbed,  we  are 
ready  to  fight,  and  the  privilege  of  holding  this  meeting  I 
shall  only  yield  with  my  life." 

I  did  not  know  but  this  last  remark  might  be  construed 
into  a  banter,  nor  did  I  care  much  if  it  was,  though  I  only 
meant  to  give  them  notice  that  we  were  ready  for  them  if 
they  were  for  war. 

Nothing  was  done,  however,  during  the  sermon  to  disturb 
the  peace  of  the  meeting;  but  after  we  adjourned  the  mob 
got  together  and  held  a  consultation,  and  concluded  to 
defer  action  till  night. 

We,  too,  held  a  council  of  war,  and  full  arrangements 
were  made  to  meet  them  on  whatever  ground  they  might 
take.  When  the  people  began  to  assemble  for  night-meet- 
ing a  picket-guard  was  placed  out  to  watch  their  move- 
ments. One  man  was  placed  in  the  garden  behind  the 
currant-bushes  to  guard  the  lane,  which  ran  immediately 
by  the  garden  fence.  This  proved  to  be  an  important  out- 
post, for  the  mob  assembled  in  the  lane  and  directly  behind 
the  garden,  and  consequently  within  a  few  paces  of  our 
concealed  pickets,  who  heard  all  they  said.  They  organized 
and  agreed  on  the  mode  of  attack,  but  as  a  prudential 
measure  they  sent  a  spy  into  the  house  in  order  to  find 
out  our  strength  and  report  before  they  brought  on  an 
engagement.  They  selected  one  whom  they  supposed  would 
not  be  liable  to  suspicion,  and  charged  him  to  watch  "  old 
Ben " — the  man  of  the  house — "  for,"  said  the  leader, 
"  he  's  as  sharp  as  a  hawk."  We  had  made  all  the  arrange- 
ments for  an  attack ;  the  children  had  been  sent  up  stairs, 
the  guns  stacked  in  a  convenient  place,  and  the  axes  and 


328  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

bludgeons  put  where  they  could  be  made  available  any 
moment.  I  took  my  stand  by  the  table,  with  my  revolver 
where  I  could  put  my  hand  on  it  instantaneously,  and  with 
these  essential  preliminaries  all  arranged,  I  again  notified 
them  of  our  readiness  to  preach  or  fight,  just  as  they 
might  elect.  The  spy  remained  inside  long  enough  to  count 
our  numbers,  and  get  a  glimpse  of  our  guns,  and  hear  the 
children  walking  over  the  upper  floor,  whom  he  took  to  be 
our  reserves,  and  then  left  and  reported  the  results  of  his 
observations.  His  report  was  in  substance  as  follows:  "As 
well  as  I  can  ascertain  they  are  about  forty  strong  and  well 
armed.  I  saw  lots  of  guns  and  several  axes  in  the  corner, 
and  I  could  hear  a  crowd  of  them  walking  round  up 
stairs." 

"Who  is  preaching?"  said  one. 

"  Shumate,"  said  the  spy,  "  and  he  said  he  was  ready  to 
preach  or  fight,  '  ary  one,'  and  I  believe  him,  too,  for  he 
hain't  got  all  them  guns  for  nothing." 

"  Yes,"  said  another,  "  old  Ben  Harrison  's  been  out  all 
over  the  neighborhood  getting  guns  to-day,  and  they  '11 
fight  like  h— 1." 

Here  a  long  consultation  ensued,  when  it  was  finally 
agreed  they  would  not  be  safe  with  their  present  numbers 
to  make  the  attack.  Our  picket  then  came  in  and  reported 
the  enemy  retreating  in  good  order,  thus  leaving  us  to 
enjoy  a  bloodless  victory. 

While  this  almost  fearful  tragedy  was  going  on  at  the 
scene  of  my  last  quarterly  meeting,  another  mob  in  the 
town  of  Holla  was  in  full  blast  within  seven  miles  of  my 
family  residence,  before  which  my  name,  with  those  of 
others  who  have  stood  up  for  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  was  brought,  and  we  were  denounced  and  threat- 
ened with  death  by  hanging  unless  we  left  the  county 
within  ten  days. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SOLDIER.  329 

This  latter  mob  in  Holla  placed  my  case  in  the  hands  of 
one  John  King,  who  was  appointed  to  notify  me  to  quit 
the  country  or  take  the  consequences.  Fortunately,  how- 
ever, this  Mr.  King  had  cause  to  remember  me,  and  his 
recollections  of  a  rencounter  with  me  at  a  camp  meeting, 
only  a  year  before,  served  to  protect  me  from  harm  from 
that  quarter.  Although  I  sent  him  word  that  I  was  ready 
for  him  to  serve  the  aforesaid  notice  on  me,  he  did  not 
come,  for  I  took  occasion  at  the  same  time  to  notify  him 
that  I  had  picked  my  flint  and  put  in  a  fresh  charge,  and 
that  he  had  better  make  his  will  beforehand. 

The  fearful  storm  which  had  long  been  gathering  now  be- 
gan to  break  around  us.  One  after  another  of  the  preachers 
were  forced  by  the  rebels  to  quit  their  fields  of  labor  and 
fly  for  life.  First,  I  received  a  letter  from  Kev.  Z.  S.  Wel- 
ler,  preacher  in  Jefferson  City,  that  his  life  was  in  jeopardy, 
and  that  the  rebel  soldiers,  under  the  traitor  Governor 
Jackson,  had  stoned  and  demolished  his  church ;  next,  and 
soon  after,  Rev.  Robert  R.  Witten  was  driven  at  midnight 
from  Rolla,  and  fled  to  my  house  j  then  Rev.  Wm.  Sellers 
was  hunted  like  a  stricken  deer  by  blood-hounds,  and  then 
Rev.  Stanford  Ing,  who  for  so  long  a  time  met  and  foiled 
the  rabble  in  many  a  contest,  at  last  had  to  fly  for  life. 
Thus  they  gradually  closed  in  upon  us,  till  by  midsummer 
there  was  but  one  preacher  of  my  district  who  could  re- 
main in  his  charge,  namely,  Rev.  J.  M'Knight. 

I  could  go  no  place  without  encountering  the  mob.  So 
I  staid  at  home  till  they  destroyed  and  stole  all  my  prop- 
erty, except  what  I  was  forced  to  sell  at  a  great  sacrifice, 
mostly  on  time,  to  persons  who  have  since  turned  traitors, 
gone  into  the  rebel  army,  and  will  never  pay  me.  I  can 
truly  say  I  escaped  with  my  life  only.  After  scraping  up 
about  fifty  dollars  to  bear  the  expenses  of  my  family  to 
Indiana,  I  had  not  twenty  left  out  of  nearly  two  thousand 

28 


330  SOUTH-WESTEKN  METHODISM. 

in  available  property.  As  soon  as  I  could  get  my  family 
started  from  the  scene  of  strife  to  a  place  of  safety,  I  took 
a  horse  and  started  toward  Fort  Scott,  determined  to  find 
out  what  the  rebels  were  doing  in  the  South-West.  To 
avoid  detection  I  had  to  leave  the  road  and  travel  through 
the  woods,  lying  out  at  night,  and  fasting  till  I  got  beyond 
the  bounds  of  my  acquaintance — then  I  officiated  in  the 
capacity  of  a  stock  buyer,  but  always  found  cattle  too  high 
to  buy  any. 


EVENTS  OF  OCTOBER,  1861.  331 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

EVENTS  OF  OCTOBER,  1861. 

1.  A  POLITICAL  counteracting  control  over  the  Church  is 
one  of  the  most  dangerous  evils  that  ever  beset  her.  The 
true  status  is  the  independency  of  the  Church,  and  also  the 
independency  of  the  State ;  the  one  in  spiritual,  the  other 
in  political  affairs.  Yet  both  are  closely  allied,  as  the  body 
and  the  spirit.  In  the  same  person  is  to  be  found  the 
Church  member  and  the  citizen ;  and  all  are  bound  to  obey 
the  civil  power  within  its  proper  sphere.  But  it  is  easy  to 
pass  over  the  lines  of  demarkation  here.  This  is  instanced 
in  the  history  of  the  Church,  from  the  days  of  Constantine 
down  to  the  present,  in  those  countries  where  the  civil 
power  controls  the  spiritual.  It  has  been  fearfully  exem- 
plified also  in  the  case  of  the  spiritual  power  of  popes 
overruling  civil  affairs. 

It  would  seem  as  if  this  catastrophe  might  have  been 
avoided  in  the  United  States,  but  it  has  not.  When  the 
Calhoun  politicians  in  1832  saw  they  could  not  accomplish 
their  object  by  political  measures,  they  had  recourse  to  the 
moral  influence  of  Churches.  The  Churches,  other  than 
the  Methodist,  were  not  committed  by  any  special  anti- 
slavery  principles  in  their  Disciplines.  The  Methodist  Dis- 
cipline, however,  was  antislavery  from  the  first,  as  was  the 
Mosaic  law  and  the  New  Testament.  Hence  the  political 
game  in  1844  to  induce  Southern  Methodists  to  secede. 
Then  a  political  card  was  played,  to  lead  them  to  interpret 
the  General  Rule  on  slavery  as_jneaning  nothing;  then  to 


332  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

teach  that  the  Bible  sustained  slavery;  after  this,  to  take 
every  thing  out  of  the  Methodist  Discipline  against  slavery, 
then  secession  comes  on,  and  with  it  treason,  rebellion,  and 
every  evil  work. 

The  Methodists  in  the  South,  with  ordinary  exceptions, 
were  good  men  in  1844.  They  have  been  deteriorating 
ever  since  they  prohibited  ministers  from  preaching  against 
breaches  of  the  ten  commandments,  or,  in  other  words, 
against  theft,  robbery,  man-stealing,  disobedience  to  parents, 
adultery,  and  murder,  all  of  which  are  involved  in  the  ac- 
cursed system  of  slavery.  But  with  conscious  hypocrisy 
they  called  preaching  against  such  iniquities  "preaching 
politics ;"  and  this  last  phrase  worked  like  a  charm,  and 
succeeded  for  the  time,  with  all  the  Churches  in  the 
South. 

Rev.  Joseph  Boyle,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South,  and  presiding  elder  of  the  St.  Louis  district,  in  a 
communication  to  the  Missouri  Republican  of  October  29th, 
among  other  things,  says : 

"  I  am  compelled  to  concur  with  you  in  the  opinion  that 
Northern  preachers  have  done  more  to  bring  upon  us  the 
present  catastrophe  than  any  other  agency,  or  indeed  than 
all  other  agencies  combined.  Had  ministers  of  the  Gospel 
confined  their  pulpit  ministrations  to  the  legitimate  topics 
of  the  sanctuary,  instead  of  prostituting  the  temple  of  God 
with  abolition  lectures,  we  would  not  now  be  witnessing  the 
horrors  of  this  fratricidal  war." 

He  further  says  : 

"  As  a  Church  we  form  no  alliance  with  any  political 
party.  We  take  no  partisan  position ;  nor  do  we,  as  the 
manner  of  some  is,  get  on  the  house-top  to  make  ostenta- 
tious proclamation  of  our  loyalty.  We  do  neither,  because 
we  deem  both  to  be  outside  the  proper  functions  of  the 
Church  of  God." 


EVENTS  OF  OCTOBER,  1861.  333 

Thus  Mr.  Boyle  marches  under  the  wing  of  the  Confed- 
eracy, and  joins  hands  with  those  who  work  treason.  A 
Northern  man,  with  Northern  teaching,  he  now  uses  the 
very  language  of  prejudice  and  misrepresentation  employed 
by  Southern  ministers  generally,  at  the  dictation  of  the 
politicians.  He  is  also  implicated  in  all  the  gross  misrep- 
resentations and  the  treasonable  and  inflammatory  utter- 
ances of  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate,  as  he  was  one 
of  its  publishers. 

His  son,  a  traveling  preacher  In  Missouri,  went  into  the 
rebel  army,  it  is  said,  by  the  advice  of  his  father,  was  cap- 
tured by  the  Federals  at  the  battle  of  Booneville,  and  was 
released  on  his  parole,  but  afterward  he  returned  to  the 
rebel  army.  It  is  no  very  remarkable  exhibition  of  immac- 
ulate modesty,  supernal  piety,  nor  yet  of  worldly  wisdom 
and  address,  that  Mr.  Boyle  does  not  take  his  Church  to 
the  house-top  to  make  ostentatious  proclamation  of  its  loy- 
alty. Not  exactly.  It  would  not  cut  a  very  interesting 
figure  in  that  peculiar  attitude.  Mr.  Boyle  would  doubt- 
less wish  to  be  excused  from  officiating  in  such  a  ceremony 
before  these  people,  hard  a  cheek  as  he  can  command  in  a 
doubtful  cause. 

We  are  grieved  that  Mr.  Boyle  has  got  into  this  snare. 
Truly,  "evil  communications  corrupt  good  manners."  "When 
we  were  presiding  elder  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  he  re- 
ceived through  our  hands  his  first  license  to  preach.  We 
remember,  also,  when  he  called  in  our  office  in  Cincinnati, 
in  the  Fall  of  1844,  urging  us  to  resist  secession  in  our 
paper,  for  he  was  instructed  by  the  Methodists  of  St.  Louis 
to  resist  it.  He  made  a  similar  call  on  Bishop  Hamline,  at 
the  same  time,  asking  his  influence  against  the  secession  of 
the  Southern  Methodists.  But  after  hearing  at  the  Lou- 
isville Convention,  for  three  weeks,  the  speeches  of  the 
Southern  preachers,  he  forgot  all  his  instructions  and  the 


334  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

principles  of  his  better  days.  But  he  was  not  alone ;  there 
were  the  principal  leaders  of  the  Church  secession,  Bishop 
Soule,  Dr.  Bascom,  and  others — Northern  men  —  in  this 
same  dilemma. 

Missouri  was  considered  by  the  Southern  rebels  as  a 
necessary  part  of  their  territory,  as  also  was  Kentucky. 
Bishop,  now  General,  Polk  may  be  considered  as  pleading 
for  both  when  he  uses  such  language  as  the  following  in 
the  Memphis  Appeal :  "  The  State  policy  of  Kentucky  can 
only  have  one  of  two  alternatives — resistance  or  submission 
to  abolition  dominion.  Should  it  be  the  first,  our  assistance 
will  be  solicited  to  break  up  the  Lincoln  encampments  and 
drive  the  Federal  forces  from  her  limits.  If  the  second, 
we  can  but  rank  Kentucky  among  the  enemies  of  the 
South,  and  invade  her  soil  as  a  measure  of  self-preservation 
from  the  odious  despotism  which  oppresses  them.  Kentucky 
may  bend  her  knee  at  present  to  the  Baal  of  abolitionism, 
but  the  strong  arm  of  our  National  power  will  rescue  her 
from  the  possession  of  the  enemy  before  the  termination 
of  this  war.  The  South  needs  her  territory,  and  must 
have  it,  though  at  the  price  of  blood  and  conquest." 

Such  was  the  language  of  Mr.  Polk,  the  same  in  spirit 
as  that  urged  by  his  fellow-traitors  in  Missouri,  and  this 
always,  bore  heavily  on  our  Church,  as  it  was  far  above 
any  other  in  the  State  loyal  to  the  Union. 

2.  The  preachers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
Missouri  at  this  time  occupied  prominent  places  in  support- 
ing the  Government,  of  which  we  give  a  few  specimens  out 
of  the  many  that  might  be  adduced : 

Rev.  Mr.  Ing,  October  2d,  came  to  our  office  in  full 
uniform,  and  stature  of  six  feet  high,  looking  as  if  he 
could  leap  over  a  wall  and  run  through  a  troop  with  per- 
fect ease.  We  mentioned  in  a  former  page  his  great 
bravery  at  Holla,  which  he  exercised  to  the  last,  till  he 


EVENTS  OF  OCTOBER,  1861.  335 

could  engage  again  in  the  ministerial  work.  Nor  was  he  sin- 
gular in  this  contest  against  rebellion.  Others  of  our  preach- 
ers entered  the  ranks  and  fought  either  as  privates  or  officers. 

Chaplain  Huffman,  of  the  Sixth  Missouri  Regiment, 
wrought  manfully  in  his  own  peculiar  sphere,  and  did 
much  to  cheer  the  sturdy  combatants  and  to  promote  the 
moral  strength  of  the  Union  cause.  His  affectionate  care, 
doubtless,  saved  many  valuable  lives. 

Rev.  W.  Hanley,  in  charge  of  Hannibal  station  and  the 
district  in  which  it  was  included,  maintained  his  cause  with 
great  effect.  He  preached  a  sermon  on  the  wickedness  of 
rebellion  and  the  justice  of  the  American  Government  for 
the  instruction  of  his  people  in  their  duties  as  citizens. 
After  the  sermon  he  read  "  The  General  Rules,"  and  also 
the  article  of  religion  on  the  duty  to  the  civil  Government, 
and  the  note  appended  to  it.  He  gave  all  to  understand 
that  if  there  were  any  rebels  in  the  Church,  he  would 
deem  it  his  duty  to  have  them  expelled  according  to  the 
Discipline.  One  only  had  withdrawn  from  the  Church, 
but  this  man  had  three  sons  in  the  rebel  army,  and  was 
himself  a  rank  secessionist.  In  short,  every  Union  man 
then  in  Missouri,  whether  clergyman  or  layman,  felt  now 
called  upon,  from  a  sense  of  duty,  to  use  all  reasonable 
means  to  defend  the  National  Government  and  to  put  down 
this  wicked  rebellion. 

Rev.  G.  W.  Keener,  after  being  run  off  from  Pilot  Knob, 
and  refused  the  privilege  of  instructing  his  little  flock, 
decided  that  if  he  could  not  have  the  liberty  of  preaching, 
he  ought  to  take  the  liberty  of  fighting  to  protect  the 
country  and  its  liberties.  So  he  went  back  to  Bond  county, 
Illinois,  and  raised  a  company  numbering  ninety-six  men. 
Rev.  S.  S.  Wood  was  of  this  company,  and  was  chosen 
fife-major.  Incidents  innumerable  of  like  sort  might  be 
furnished.  The  foregoing,  however,  will  suffice. 


336  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

3.  The  Methodists  of  Louisiana,  Missouri,  in  1844,  were, 
by  their  circumstances,  led  into  the  Southern  Church,  al- 
though much  against  their  will.  At  a  meeting  of  the 
members,  September  30,  1861,  they  expressed  their  views  in 
a  preamble  and  resolutions,  which  appeared  in  the  Central 
Christian  Advocate  of  October  23d.  After  decided  measures 
of  loyalty  to  the  Government,  they  expressed  themselves 
very  plainly  in  reference  to  Church  matters.  We  select 
the  following  resolutions: 

"  That  in  our  opinion  the  position  of  our  Church,  as 
indicated  by  the  action,  teachings,  and  influence  of  our 
bishops,  editors  of  our  Church  journals,  and  the  great 
body  of  our  traveling  preachers,  according  to  the  best  in- 
formation we  have,  is  that  of  hostility  to  the  General  Gov- 
ernment and  in  favor  of  the  rebellion,  and  therefore,  so 
far  as  that  influence  goes,  it  meets  with  our  unqualified 
condemnation. 

"That  in  our  opinion,  based  on  actual  reading  and  exam- 
ination of  its  contents,  besides  numerous  other  facts  within 
our  knowledge,  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate,  as  con- 
ducted by  Rev.  Dr.  M'Anally  through  the  last  eight  or  nine 
months,  notwithstanding  the  oft-repeated  declarations  of  the 
editor  that  he  has  taken  no  side  in  favor  of  disunion  and 
rebellion,  has  exerted  a  most  sinister  and  injurious  influ- 
ence in  favor  of  the  rebellion,  and  to  its  insidious,  but  false 
and  Jesuitical  teachings,  is  to  be  attributed  mainly  the  fact 
of  so  many  of  our  Church  members  being  carried  away  in 
thought  and  in  action  in  favor  of  the  wild,  delusive,  and 
wicked  fallacy  of  secession. 

"That  the  failure  of  our  late  Annual  Conference  to  con- 
demn the  course  of  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate  in 
respect  to  the  rebellion,  or  to  condemn  the  rebellion  raging 
all  through  our  borders,  as  well  as  from  the  known  and 
acknowledged  fact  of  so  many,  said  to  be  nearly  all  our 


EVENTS  OF  OCTOBER,  1861.  337 

traveling  preachers,  sympathizing  with  the  rebellion,  is  an 
indirect  indorsement  of  the  rebellion  itself." 

Under  these  circumstances  the  Southern  Methodists  in 
Louisiana  prepared  to  leave  the  Southern  Church  in  a  body, 
and  to  reunite  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

4.  The  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate  was  very  zealous, 
during  this  Fall,  in  supporting  the  rebellion,  of  which  we 
gave  many  specimens  in  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of 
October  16th.  The  Kansas  and  Missouri  Conferences  of 
Southern  Methodists  supported  it  to  the  utmost. 

Their  Kansas  Conference,  which  met  at  Atchison,  Sep- 
tember 5th,  passed  the  following  resolutions: 

"1.  That  we  highly  recommend  the  consistent,  dignified, 
and  Christian  course  that  the  editor  of  the  St.  Louis  Chris- 
tian Advocate  has  taken  during  the  present  existing  difficul- 
ties in  the  country. 

"2.  That  we,  as  a  Conference,  respectfully  request  the 
next  General  Conference  to  reelect  Rev.  D.  R.  M'Anally 
editor  of  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate.  t 

"3.  That  we  will  be  more  diligent  in  extending  its  cir- 
culation." 

The  Missouri  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  South,  which  sat  in  Waverly,  Mo.,  September  28th, 
took  the  following  action: 

"The  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate,  our  official  organ, 
has  continued  to  grow  in  interest  and  in  favor  with  the 
people,  both  among  our  people  and  the  public  at  large.  It 
is  now  looked  upon  as  the  most  reliable  medium  of  public 
news  known  to  the  people  within  the  limits  of  its  circulation. 

"Resolved,  That  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate  is 
worthy  of  our  fullest  confidence,  and  should  be  sustained 
by  our  Church,  through  these  troublous  times,  as  indis- 
pensable to  the  best  interests  of  the  country  and  the  cause 
of  religion." 

29 


338  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

The  resolutions  of  both  these  Conferences  were  nothing 
less  than  an  open  indorsement  of  the  rebellion,  and  a  de- 
nunciation of  the  Federal  Government. 

5.  The  desolations  of  the  war  and  of  our  Church  are  well 
presented,  in  a  letter  to  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of 
October  20th,  by  that  uncompromising  Methodist  patriot, 
Ellis  G.  Evans,  written  from  Steelville,  Mo.  He  states  that 
their  preacher,  Rev.  S.  Ing,  was  long  since  forced  to  leave  his 
circuit,  or  rather  was  driven  from  his  country.  He  entered 
the  army  as  captain  of  cavalry,  moving  toward  Springfield 
with  General  Wyman.  The  Central  Christian  Advocate, 
through  irregularity  of  the  mails,  did  not  reach  them,  and 
they  could  not  hear  from  their  friends.  He  says  to  the 
preachers : 

"Speak,  brethren,  for  the  sake  of  the  rest  of  us.  ~\Ye 
have  spoken  out  often  from  this  place  in  days  gone  by,  and 
it  is  hardly  necessary  to  repeat  that  we  still  intend  to  stand 
by  the  Discipline,  by  the  Church  of  our  fathers,  by  our 
native  State,  and  by  our  nation. 

"As  to  this  war,  some  of  us  have  been  in  it  for  sixteen 
years.  We  have  been  fighting  against  a  tyranny  that  refused 
us  and  our  children  civi\,  rights  granted  to  others;  for 
instance,  remember  'Ebenezer  High-School,'  'Jackson  Sem- 
inary,' and  'Jefferson  City  University.'  We  first  had  leg- 
islation directed  against  our  children  as  the  offspring  of 
Methodists;  but  last  Winter  the  same  power  extended  the 
legislation  against  all  the  children  of  the  State.  For  a  long 
time  our  little  band  was  nearly  alone  in  the  fight,  but  now 
we  find  the  whole  people  who  love  their  State  rising  up  in 
defense  of  their  children,  born  and  unborn. 

"We  feel  somewhat  lonesome  out  here  at  present,  but  we 
were  once  deprived  of  our  Church  for  several  years,  say 
from  1845  to  1848,  when  the  General  Conference  heard  our 
petitions. 


EVENTS  OF  OCTOBER,  1861.  339 

"  But  we  are  told  we  are  without  a  Union,  and,  to  quote 
Dr.  M'Anally,  'There  is  no  Union.'  Well,  our  fathers  were 
for  a  long  time  in  the  same  fix,  and  we  used  to  read  about 
their  fighting  seven  dreary  years  to  create  a  Union ;  so  now, 
if  they  did  not  pay  more  than  a  Union  is  worth,  how  long 
should  we  strive  for  National  existence  and  independence." 

These  are  brave  words,  and  true  and  honest  as  brave. 

6.  As  to  the  state  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
Missouri  in  October,  we  published,  in  the  Central  Christian 
Advocate,  an  account  of  it,  on  the  30th,  which  we  here 
transcribe,  for  we  can  not  now  mend  it,  except  in  the  tense 
of  the  verbs,  and  other  minor  points: 

"Our  friends  at  a  distance  may  desire  to  hear  of  our 
affairs  in  Missouri.  Indeed,  our  own  preachers  and  people 
are  so  scattered  that  half  of  them  do  not  know  how  the 
other  half  fare.  Our  post-offices  are  deranged  in  some  two- 
thirds  of  the  State.  Some  of  our  preachers  are,  of  neces- 
sity, out  of  the  State  for  the  present;  others  of  them  are  in 
the  army,  and  away  from  the  avenues  of  communication; 
others  are  in  such  places  of  safety  as  they  can  best  provide. 
"VVe  will,  however,  descend  to  particulars. 

"No  quarterly  meetings  have  been  held  in  our  Churches 
in  Missouri  since  the  first  of  May  last.  Three  of  the  pre- 
siding elders,  Messrs.  May,  Smith,  and  Lathrop,  were  com- 
pelled, as  a  matter  of  safety,  to  leave  the  State.  Brother 
Smith  is  in  Iowa,  as  he  could  hold  no  quarterly  meetings 
in  his  district,  which  includes  Kansas  City  and  the  South- 
West.  .  Brother  Lathrop,  in  Northern  Missouri,  had  to  fol- 
low the  Scripture,  '  When_they  persecute  you  in  one  city,  flee 
to  another;'  he  is  now  in  Iowa  or  Nebraska.  Brother  May 
is  in  Hamilton,  111.  He  expected  to  take  work  in  the  Cen- 
tral Illinois  Conference,  but  there  was  no  room  for  him,  so 
he  is  now  without  means  of  support  or  pastoral  charge. 
Brother  Hanley  is  in  his  place,  as  brother  May  had  con- 


340  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

eluded  to  labor  in  Illinois.  Presiding  elders  Huffman.  Oyler, 
and  Shumate  are  chaplains  in  the  army,  and,  of  course,  must 
follow  their  regiments,  and  can  hold  no  quarterly  meetings. 
Brother  Hanley,  now  presiding  elder  of  Hannibal  district, 
is  also  preacher  in  charge  at  Hannibal.  He  can  fill  his 
station,  and  hold  some  quarterly  meetings,  when  any  are 
possible.  Three  of  our  stationed  preachers,  brother  Brooks, 
of  Ebenezer,  brother  Pile,  of  the  Boatman's  Chapel,  and 
brother  M'Donald,  of  Hedding,  are  chaplains.  Brother 
Beggs,  who  traveled  De  Soto  circuit,  is  now  at  Jefferson 
City,  preaching  to  large  congregations.  We  have  no  infor- 
mation as  to  the  locality  of  many  preachers  of  the  Confer- 
ence. We  earnestly  request  them  to  let  us  know  where 
they  are,  that  our  brethren  may  learn  the  true  state  of 
things.  Several  of  our  preachers  are  in  the  army,  in  vari- 
ous relations,  some  as  officers,  others  as  privates. 

"Great  destitution  is  at  this  time  the  lot  of  most,  or,  at 
least%  many  preachers  of  the  Missouri  Conference.  Brother 
Linan  is  here  in  the  city,  with  his  wife  and  family,  without 
any  means  of  support  or  employ.  During  the  Summer  he 
was  forced  to  quit  his  circuit,  and  left  his  family  among 
the  rebels.  He  afterward,  however,  succeeded  in  getting 
them  to  the  city,  at  the  risk  of  his  life. 

"Professor  Mudge,  who  was  stationed  at  Independence, 
and  was  five  times  warned  to  leave,  is  now  at  Quindaro, 
Kansas.  This  devoted  man,  in  a  letter  to  brother  Stewart, 
of  this  city,  describes  his  condition.  We  are  permitted  to 
copy  it.  From  the  letter  our  readers  will  learn  the  temper 
of  this  good  man,  who  purposes  to  renew  his  labors  as  soon 
as  an  opportunity  offers.  He  says: 

" '  I  am  here,  off  and  on,  but  expect  next  week  to  be  in 
Manhattan,  Kansas.  Matters  have  been  greatly  stirred  up 
in  Independence  since  Price  gained  his  advantage  at  Lex- 
ington, thirty  miles  distant.  It  is  in  some  degree  safe  to 


EVENTS  OF  OCTOBER,  1861.  341 

what  it  has  been,  and  soon>will  be  quite  so.  But  I  must 
leave  for  want  of  support.  Our  people  need  pastoral  aid. 
They  need  also  food  and  clothing.  My  board  would  be 
far  more  than  they  could  pay.  I  have  received  for  six  or 
eight  months'  labor  from  the  people  six  or  seven  dollars; 
$37.50  missionary  money  at  Conference,  none  since.  So, 
by  the  advice  of  the  Bishop,  I  go  to  Manhattan  to  fill  out 
the  year.  I  do  not  take  a  transfer.  I  can  not  bear  to  see 
the  work  in  Missouri  forsaken,  and  if  I  had  a  support  I 
should  certainly  stay.  I  hold  myself  ready  to  return  in 
the  Spring,  if  it  is  judged  best.  No  people  need  pastoral 
care  more  than  the  flock  in  Missouri.  With  all  the  war 
troubles  I  have  never  enjoyed  a  year  better  than  the  past. 
If  the  rest  of  the  year  is  as  pleasant  and  profitable  I  am 
content.  It  has  been  a  wonderful  Providence  that  has 
been  over  mer  keeping  me  from  the  dangers  that  have 
been  all  around.  My  health  is  first-rate.  Milton  is  per- 
fectly well.  I  know  of  no  one  on  all  the  Kansas  City 
district  who  is  now  at  work.  I  believe  I  am  the  last. 
Brother  Gaither  is  at  Baldwin  City;  brother  Mitchell  at 
Independence.' 

"  Take  another  specimen  of  the  distress  of  one  of  our 
preachers.  He  is  now  at  Oskaloosa,  Kansas,  and  writes, 
October  10th,  he  was  compelled  to  leave  his  work  some 
two  weeks  previous.  He  has  been  sick  since  he  went  to 
that  place.  He  wants  his  quarterly  installment  of  mission- 
ary money  sent  him,  amounting  to  $25.  This  was  drawn 
by  the  presiding  elder,  who  is  now  chaplain  in  the  army, 
and  has  to  follow  his  regiment.  The  presiding  elder  does 
not  know  where  the  preacher  is,  and  the  preacher  does  not 
know  where  the  presiding  elder  is.  The  preacher's  goods 
are  at  Leavenworth  with  $25  charges  on  them;  he  can  not 
get  them  without  money,  and  yet  he  has  none.  The  poor 
preacher  asks  us  this  question:  'Brother  Elliott,  do  you 


342  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

think  that  the  missionary  appropriation  to  the  circuit  will 
be  paid  to  the  preachers  when  they  were  compelled  to 
leave  their  works?' 

"  Such  is  the  statement  of  this  case  j  it  is  similar  to 
many  now  occurring  in  Missouri.  About  half  of  our  mem- 
bers have  been  compelled  to  leave  the  State,  and  there  are 
few  left  to  support  the  preachers ;  the  little  missionary 
supply  seems  to  be  the  only  resource.  This  will  not  apply 
to  preachers  who  serve  the  army,  because  the  army  sup- 
ports them.  Our  brothers  who  are  isolated  and  can  not 
hear  as  to  others,  want  to  know  the  state  of  things. 

"Although  the  preachers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  South  in  Missouri  are  mostly  secessionists,  yet 
there  are  exceptions.  One  of  them  is  a  loyal  chaplain  in 
Col.  Wright's  Regiment  of  Missouri  Volunteers.  Another 
preacher  of  this  Church  is  in  the  army  at  Holla,  and  there 
are  several  others  of  whom  we  have  heard,  but  we  need 
pot  detail.  Brother  Shumate  and  brother  Huffman's  fami- 
lies are  now  in  St.  Louis  as  a  place  of  safety  from  the 
assaults  of  rebels  to  which  they  have  been  exposed,  the  one 
at  Holla  and  the  other  at  De  Soto. 

"  In  this  city  our  three  German  Churches  are  in  a 
healthy  state,  true  to  their  God  and  true  to  their  adopted 
country.  The  state  of  our  three  English  Churches  is  as 
follows:  Hedding  has  a  very  small  congregation,  if  con- 
gregation it  may  be  called ;  but  there  is  a  good  Sunday 
school.  At  Simpson  Chapel  we  have  a  good  Sunday 
school,  and  a  promising  state  of  things  in  the  congrega- 
tion. At  Ebenezer  services  are  suspended,  as  the  rent  on 
the  lot  not  being  paid,  the  landlord  closed  the  house. 
Nevertheless,  there  is  much  inquiry  now  after  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church  of  1784,  and  its  fallen  altars,  we  are 
persuaded,  will  be  reerected  in  St.  Louis.  J3f  this  we  will 
give  some  notice  after  a  short  time. 


EVENTS  OF  OCTOBER,  1861.  343 

"  We  conclude  this  article  by  stating  that  in  our  judg- 
ment the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  will  have  a  prosper- 
ous future  in  this  State.  Its  unfaltering  loyalty  through- 
out the  United  States  wherever  it  exists  gives  it  a  prestige 
which  will  command  the  respect  of  all  men.  In  Missouri 
the  day  of  its  depression  will  soon  be  over.  Loyal  citi- 
zens will  see  where  it  has  stood  and.  is  likely  to  stand. 
Those  who  have  been  entangled  in  the  meshes  of  seces- 
sion, after  they  are  cured  of  their  delusion,  will  find  a 
desirable  ecclesiastical  asylum  within  its  pale.  As  soon 
as  the  rebellion  is  crushed  out  in  this  State  our  work 
will  commence  anew.  One  or  more  of  our  bishops  and 
other  brethren  will  commence  the  work  of  reconstruction 
in  all  the  places  now  desolate.  A  Central  or  Metropolitan 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  will  rise  up  like  a  phenix  in 
the  midst  of  St.  Louis.  0,  we  wish  we  could  reach  all 
our  scattered  and  peeled  friends  who  are  now  in  the  State, 
or  who  have  been  temporarily  driven  out  of  it!  We  would 
utter  words  of  encouragement  to  them.  We  would  say  to 
them,  '  Your  God  liveth,  your  captivity  is  ended.' " 


344  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

EVENTS  OF  NOVEMBER,  1861. 

1.  IN  the  Fall  of  1861  there  was  a  double  stampede  of 
inhabitants  from  Missouri.      The   first  was   that  of  Union 
people   flying  from  the  State  before  the  scourges   inflicted 
upon  them  by  secessionists.     At  the  close  of  October  it  was 
supposed   that   two    hundred   thousand    loyal    citizens   had 
abandoned  the  State  from  force  or  fear.     The  other  depart- 
ures from  the  State  were  of  slaveholders,  who,  to  save  their 
slaves,    either    emigrated    permanently   with    them    to    the 
South,   or  went    there   temporarily   in   charge   of  them,  to 
await  the  issue  of  the  war.     There  was  not  at  this  time, 
perhaps,  more  than  one-fourth  as  many  slaves  in  the  State 
as  had  been  in  it  twelve  months  prior. 

2.  The  sufferings  of  our  preachers   and   people  in   Mis- 
souri at  this  time  were  very  great  indeed. 

Rev.  A.  J.  Gaither  was  in  the  region  of  Springfield,  on 
Mt.  Vernon  circuit.  He  joined  a  company  of  the  "Mis- 
souri Home-Guards,"  but  they  failed  to  get  arms.  So  when 
the  Government  troops  retreated  from  that  locality  he  had 
to  leave.  With  his  one-horse  buggy  he  made  out  to  reach 
Kansas,  leaving  his  furniture  and  goods  behind  him.  Here 
he  was  without  business  or  any  resources  for  a  livelihood, 
and  with  his  sick  wife ;  he  had  a  time  of  sore  trial  and  suf- 
fering indeed.  He  received  a  small  missionary  appropria- 
tion for  the  first  quarter  of  the  year,  but  as  he  and  his 
presiding  elder  were  separated  he  could  get  no  more. 

Rev.  Henry  Martin,  on  the  Shelbyville  circuit,  was  greatly 


EVENTS  OF  NOVEMBER,  1861.  345 

annoyed  by  rebel  interferences.  But  he  nobly  stood  his 
ground. 

Rev.  A.  H.  Powell,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South,  who  traveled  their  Springfield  circuit,  left  the  South- 
ern Church  and  became  chaplain  in  one  of  the  Missouri 
regiments,  and  having  done  good  service  to  the  Union  cause 
in  that  relation,  finally  united  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  in  whose  communion  he  is  now,  doing  praiseworthy 
service. 

Another  Southern  Methodist  preacher,  Rev.  Mr.  Reah, 
who  conducted  an  academy  in  Springfield,  Mo.,  and  was 
the  pastor  of  the  Southern  Methodist  Church  there,  made 
his  way  to  Iowa,  having  realized  that  the  man  who  does 
not  favor  secession  and  maintain  slavery  is  not  qualified  to 
preach  in  the  Southern  Church. 

Rev.  F.  S.  Beggs  writes,  November  6th,  from  Jefferson 
City,  that  when  he  arrived  there  he  found  all  in  excitement 
and  bustle.  Soldiers  were  arriving  and  departing  with  great 
rapidity,  all  destined  for  the  seat  of  war.  Yet  he  says 
things  have  changed  for  the  better,  and  concludes  his  letter 
with  the  following  cheerful  view :  "  We  feel  like  the  day 
will  soon  be  ours.  After  a  short  time  our  Church  in  Mis- 
souri will  spread  her  wings  and  overshadow  the  whole  State. 
Then  '  the  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  shall  be  glad 
for  them,  and  the  desert  shall  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the 
rose.'  " 

Rev.  Mr.  Lyon,  a  chaplain  of  our  army,  who  was  in  the 
State  of  Missouri  during  Price's  war  upon  it,  and  who  knew 
well  the  calamities  of  our  people,  gi\&es  the  following  sketch 
of  their  condition.  In  an  article  in  the  North-Western 
Christian  Advocate,  after  referring  to  our  own  privations, 
he  says : 

"  His  co-sufferers  are  our  brethren  of  the  Missouri  and 
Arkansas  Conference.  These  moral  heroes  have  main- 


346  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

tained  their  integrity,  and  they  have  kept  their  posts  till 
driven  away  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  Nearly  sixty  of 
them  have  been  driven  from  the  work  assigned  them  by  the 
Bishop.  They  had  been  nearly  half  starved  before  the  war 
broke  out,  and  now  they  are  left  entirely  destitute — many 
of  them  with  families  on  their  hands.  A  few  of  them  have 
been  appointed  chaplains  in  the  army,  but  about  fifty  of 
them — as  noble  and  self-sacrificing  men,  and  as  heroic  pa- 
triots as  there  are  in  the  land,  who  are  now  unable  to  get 
work  —  are  now  penniless  and  in  a  suffering  condition. 
They  belong  to  the  Church — can  nothing  be  done  to  re- 
lieve their  present  distress?" 

3.  The  following  account  of  the  Kansas  City  district, 
comprising  the  south-western  tiers  of  counties  from  the 
Missouri  River  to  the  Arkansas  line,  corresponds  to  the  ac- 
counts already  given.  Rev.  J.  C.  Smith  was  presiding  elder 
on  the  district.  We  publish  entire  his  truthful  account,  as 
given  at  Agency  City,  Iowa,  November  10,  1861 : 

"  BROTHER  ELLIOTT, — Below  I  give  you  a  few  items  con- 
cerning the  ministers  of  the  Kansas  City  district,  Missouri 
Conference.  •  The  interruption  of  the  mails  and  the  frequent 
changes  occurring  in  our  residences  and  circumstances,  have 
rendered  it  impossible  to  keep  posted  as  to  each  other's 
situation. 

"  But  for  these  difficulties  I  would  have  written  sooner. 
Rev.  W.  S.  "Wentz,  who  was  stationed  in  Kansas  City,  is 
supplying  the  Atchison  station,  Kansas  Conference.  He 
has  been  there  since  the  early  part  of  Summer.  I  learn  he 
is  doing  a  good  work,  but  is  in  feeble  health. 

"Rev.  T.  H.  Mudge,  who  had  charge  of  the  Independence 
station  and  circuit,  was  able  to  remain  at  his  post  till  about 
the  time  of  the  fall  of  Lexington,  when  he  found  it  neces- 
sary to  leave,  at  least  for  a  time.  There  being  no  means 
available  for  his  support,  he  found  it  difficult  to  continue 


EVENTS  OF  NOVEMBER,  1861.  347 

his  work.  He  is  now  in  charge  of  the  Manhattan  station, 
Kansas  Conference,  where  he  will,  in  all  probability,  remain 
to  the  end  of  the  Conference  year.  Rev.  0.  II.  Mitchell 
has  spent  the  most  of  the  Summer  in  Independence  and  its 
vicinity,  where  he  is  at  present.  He  has  been  unable  to  do 
any  thing  on  his  circuit  since  Conference. 

"Rev.  C.  E.  Carpenter  was  driven  from  his  circuit  early 
in  May,  after  encountering  the  pro-slavery  mobs.  His  cir- 
cuit included  Papensville,  where  a  battle  has  been  fought. 
He  went  to  Kansas,  where  he  spent  a  few  months,  and  then 
removed  to  Iowa.  He  now  resides  in  Fairfield. 

"  Rev.  T.  C.  Babcock — of  this  good  brother  I  have  no 
knowledge.  When  I  last  heard  of  him  he  was  captain  of  a 
company  of  Home-Guards,  whose  avowed  object  was  to  pro- 
tect themselves  from  the  rebels,  who  resolved  to  mob  the 
'Northern  Methodist  preacher,  Babcock.'  How  they  suc- 
ceeded in  that,  under  the  leadership  of  the  'Northern 
preacher,'  I  know  not.  I  have  written  him  several  times, 
but  got  no  tidings  from  him. 

"Rev.  A.  J.  Gaither,  of  the  Mt.  Verhon  circuit,  remained 
at  his  work  till  the  battle  of  'Wilson's  Creek,'  which  was 
within  the  bounds  of  his  charge.  He  was  then  obliged  to 
leave  the  country,  or  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  rebels.  He 
is  at  Baldwin  City,  Kansas. 

"  Rev.  G.  W.  Fisher  .was  obliged  to  leave  his  work  and 
flee  to  Kansas.  At  last  accounts  he  was  at  Mound  City, 
and  his  family  in  South-Western  Missouri.  He  dare  not 
return  to  them.  I  understand  he  is  supplying  a  circuit  in 
the  Kansas  Conference. 

"Rev.  B.  Hall  was  in  South-Western  Kansas  when  last 
heard  from.  He  left  his  work  early  in  the  Summer. 

"Rev.  P.  H.  Early  was  obliged,  early  in  the  Spring,  to 
leave  his  circuit.  He  spent  most  of  the  Summer  in  Kansas, 
but  finding  there  was  no  hope  of  being  able  to  resume  his 


348  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

work  in  Missouri,  he  removed  to  Iowa,  and  is  now  stopping 
near  Newton,  Jasper  county. 

"Rev.  J.  H.  Vaughan,  surrounded  by  peril,  remained  at 
his  post  till  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  get  out  of  the 
country.  He  then  joined  the  'Home-Guards,'  and  has  been 
in  the  service  of  his  country  for  some  three  months  or  more. 
He  was  at  Jefferson  City  when  I  heard  from  him  last,  but 
is  doubtless  now  with  the  army,  in  the  South-Western  part 
of  Missouri. 

"As  to  myself,  your  readers  know  my  whereabouts.  I 
had  no  work  on  my  district;  I  therefore  thought  it  best  to 
spend  the  Summer  in  Iowa,  where  I  could  provide  for  my 
family.  The  continuation  of  the  war  in  Missouri  precludes 
the  idea  of  resuming  our  work  there  this  Fall;  I  therefore 
resolved  to  spend  the  Winter  in  Iowa.  I  am  teaching  school, 
and  preaching  when  opportunity  offers.  I  shall  return  to 
the  South-West  in  the  Spring. 

"  If  this  should  fall  under  the  eyes  of  brothers  Vaughan, 
Babcock,  and  Hall,  will  they  please  write  me,  at  Agency 
City,  Iowa,  and  give  me  their  post-office  addresses,  or  the 
nearest  point  where  'express'  agencies  can  reach  them?  I 
will  send  them  the  missionary  money  due  them. 

"Our  work,  in  the  bounds  of  the  Kansas  City  district, 
will  have  to  be  reorganized  when  the  war  is  over.  Our  lay- 
men are,  generally,  driven  out  of  the  country.  They  have 
suffered  greatly  in  property  and  feeling.  So  far  as  I  know, 
the  ministers  of  the  district  all  expect  to  return  to  their 
work  as  soon  as  it  is  practicable  to  do  so.  Let  the  Church 
remember  them  in  prayer." 

4.  As  to  the  general  state  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  we  reproduce  the  view  we  took  of  it,  on  the  spot, 
November  27,  1861 : 

"  Our  brethren  at  a  distance  are  desirous  of  knowing 
how  our  religious  concerns  are  in  this  State.  Both  preach- 


EVENTS  OF  NOVEMBER,  1861.  349 

ers  and  people  wish  to  know  the  whereabouts  and  doings 
of  each  other,  but  their  requests  can  not  be  met.  Some 
of  our  preachers  are  in  the  army  either  as  chaplains, 
officers,  or  privates;  others  have  left  the  State  for  safety, 
or  for  the  purpose  of  providing  for  themselves  and  their 
families  in  the  best  way  they  can ;  while  others  are  confined 
to  one  place  on  their  circuits;  and  up  to  this  time  the 
principal  risk  of  life  has  been  in  traveling  from  one  place 
to  another.  The  pinching  want  of  most  of  our  preachers 
for  the  commonest  necessities  of  life  has  been  very  great 
indeed.  Our  Church  members  have  been  scattered;  per- 
haps one-half  or  more  were  driven  from  the  State  as  early 
as  August  last.  The  remnants  have  been  concealed  or 
have  escaped  by  various  stratagems  since  that  time.  The 
rebel  wars  and  robberies  have  stripped  our  people  of  what 
yet  remained.  Some  individuals  here  and  there,  preach- 
ers and  people,  ask  us  where  are  the  others  of  our  fel- 
low-sufferers, and  what  are  they  doing?  Alas!  we  can 
not  give  the  information,  except  in  a  very  limited  way 
indeed. 

"  Well,  we  will  begin  and  report  ourself.  We.  are  in 
better  health  since  we  came  to  Missouri  than  we  have  had 
since  our  early  manhood,  when  we  jumped  in  the  bogs, 
bathed  in  the  river,  and  studied  our  lessons  in  hie,  hcec, 
hoc,  with  buoyant  hopes  of  the  future.  We  sleep  in  our 
office,  eat  at  an  eating-house,  and  receive  daily  visits  from 
patriotic  chaplains,  officers,  and  soldiers.  Our  spirits  were 
never  better,  and  our  hopes  never  so  strong  for  religion 
and  the  Union.  We  expect  to  change  our  office  this  month 
from  the  upper  story  of  Dr.  M'Anally's  premises  to  Locust- 
street,  between  Fourth  and  Fifth.  The  public  say  our  old 
flag  has  been  a  safeguard  to  editor  M'Anally,  and  saved 
him  from  suspension  by  its  daily  graceful  waving  over  his 
secession  sheet.  As  he  is  now  safe  from  the  proscription 


350  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

which  he  earned  and  courted  but  could  not  secure,  we 
change  of  choice,  not  of  necessity,  our  place  of  issuing  our 
paper,  lest  we  should  give  aid  and  comfort  to  secession. 
As  our  old  flag  has  done  its  work  of  protection  at  No.  78 
Pine-street,  third  story,  we  will  raise  our  new  sign  and 
flag  at  No.  101  Locust-street,  north  side,  between  Fourth 
and  Fifth.  Now  as  to  the  Missouri  Conference. 

"KANSAS  CITY  DISTRICT  is  fully  described  by  the  presid- 
ing elder,  Rev.  J.  C.  Smith,  who  is  teaching  school  for  an 
honest  living  in  Agency  City,  Iowa. 

"ST.  Louis  DISTRICT.  The  presiding  elder,  Rev.  S.  Huff- 
man, is  a  soldier  in  the  army  doing  noble  service.  Broth- 
ers Brooks,  of  Ebenezer,  and  Pile,  of  Boatman's  Chapel, 
and  M'Donald,  of  Hedding,  are  chaplains.  Brother  Linan 
has  escaped  with  his  life,  and^is  in  the  city.  Simpson 
Chapel  is  our  only  English  Church  in  the  city  with  regular 
services,  with  brother  Stewart  as  pastor.  Other  parts  of 
this  district  are  without  religious  services.  Our  friends  in 
this  city  are  arranging  for  a  new  move. 

"  JEFFERSON  CITY  DISTRICT.  Elder  Shumate  is  chaplain 
with  the  army,  doing  earnest  service  for  God  and  his 
country.  Brother  F.  S.  Beggs  is  now  in  Jefferson  City, 
with  large  congregations  of  citizens  and  soldiers.  Brother 
Ing  is  captain  of  a  cavalry  company,  and  brother  Wood  is 
private  in  the  same.  No  preacher  in  this  district  has  regu- 
lar services  except  the  one  at  Jefferson  City. 

"HANNIBAL  DISTRICT.  Brother  Hanley,  as  stationed 
preacher,  has  kept  his  ground  and  maintained  his  cause 
admirably.  He  has  recently  been  at  Louisiana,  looking 
after  our  interests  there.  He  will  act  as  presiding  elder 
and  preacher  in  charge  till  reorganization  takes  place. 

"We  have  no  recent  information  from  the  other  districts. 
Our  confidence  is  strong  that  our  Church  in  Missouri  will 
soon  recover  what  it  has  lost  by  persecution  and  rebellion 


EVENTS  OF  NOVEMBER,  1861.  351 

with  vast  increase.     Our  people   here  were   never  in   such 
good  spirits  as  now." 

5.  The  great  expected  battle  passed  away  without  any 
fighting  in  Missouri.  The  rebel  army  under  Price  and 
M'Culloch  went  to  Arkansas.  The  United  States  troops 
left  Springfield  and  came  north  to  Sedalia,  Jefferson  City, 
and  St.  Louis.  Garrisons  of  considerable  force  were  placed 
at  Pilot  Knob,  Rolla,  and  most  other  places  in  Missouri. 
As  Union  men  were  suffering  the  loss  of  all  things,  they 
were  leaving  in  great  numbers  with  our  army.  Many  of 
the  rebels  left  with  the  army  of  Price,  and  the  country 
became  nearly  desolate  in  many  parts.  The  tide,  however, 
begnn  to  set  in  in  favor  of  the  Union,  with  manifest  indica- 
tions of  success  to  its  cause;  and,  although  our  Church 
was  very  much  scattered  and  weakened,  those  who  remained 
were  very  much  encouraged  in  contemplating  the  future  of 
Methodism  in  Missouri.  They  saw  the  curses  of  their 
enemies  and  persecutors  come  home  to  roost  on  their  own 
heads.  They  saw  the  majesty  of  the  National  Government 
driving  its  thundering  cannon-wheels  over  and  crushing 
into  the  mire  the  very  iniquities  which  they  had  denounced 
for  years,  but  for  the  denunciation  of  which  they  had  suf- 
fered the  loss  of  all  things.  They  were  now  marching  in 
the  wake  of  victory.  They  saw  the  raging  storm  and 
heard  its  deep-toned  threatening  mutterings  with  a  feeling 
not  altogether  of  terror.  There  was  something  of  wonder- 
ing admiration  and  even  love  about  it,  for  they  knew  that 
God  was  in  the  storm.  Amid  the  rush  of  the  tempest 
they  heard  the  rending  of  lashes,  the  breaking  of  yokes, 
the  snapping  of  fetters,  the  falling  of  chains,  and  the 
hoarse,  dying  cry  of  the  human  auctioneer.  But  beyond 
and  above  all  these  they  heard  the  triumphant  halleluiahs 
of  four  million,  four  thousand,  four  hundred  and  four  of 
God's  poor.  And  they  saw  this  peeled  people  lift  itself 


352  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

from  its  long-inflicted  and  grievous  thralldom  and  stand 
upright  in  the  image  of  God,  with  its  face  toward  heaven 
as  it  were  the  face  of  a  man.  And  our  people  echoed 
back  the  halleluiahs. 

6.  The  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate,  in  an  address  on 
personal  matters,  occupying  more  than  one-half  of  his  first 
page  of  November  14th,  says: 

"These  slanderous  pens  and  tongues,  whose  name  is  legion, 
confined  mostly,  however,  to  Northern  Methodists,  led  on  by 
their  papers  and  army  chaplains,  which  have  pursued  me 
for  months,  and  sought  to  excite  against  me  and  this  paper 
the  officers  of  the  law,  may  expect  to  receive  all  proper  and 
due  attention.  Hitherto  I  have  shown  up  their  false  double- 
dealing,  their  bad  faith,  and  their  prevarications  only  in  part; 
the  remainder  is  yet  to  come.  For  months  and  years  past 
they  have  pursued  me  with  a  venom  they  have  exhibited  to 
no  one  else,  and  now  I  hope  to  be  with  them  in  six  troubles, 
and  not  to  forsake  them  in  the  seventh;  but  I  will  be  with 
them  in  no  unchristian  spirit,  and  will  meet  their  falsehoods 
with  truth,  their  fallacies  with  facts,  and  their  bald  assump- 
tions with  sober  reason." 

His  paper  of  the  21st  abounded  with  mournings  over  the 
loyal  Methodists  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Of 
the  recent  Beaufort  affair  he  sneers  in  these  words: 

"At  first  the  Federal  fleet  had  taken  the  place,  and  then  it 
hadn't;  then  again  it  had,  and  the  last  had  stands  as  yet." 

This  is  a  specimen  of  his  dealing  with  every  act  of  the 
General  Government. 


EVENTS  OF  DECEMBER,  1861.  353 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

EVENTS   OF   DECEMBER,    1861. 

1.  IN  the  month  of  December,  and  previous,  the  rebel 
General  Price,  with  a  considerable  army,  was  endeavoring 
to  conquer  Missouri  to  the  South.  Most  of  the  Southern 
Methodist  preachers  and  many  of  their  members  were  co- 
laborers  with  the  General  in  this  treasonable  work.  In  the 
case  of  Rev.  R.  J.  White,  we  have  a  specimen  of  the  pre- 
vailing habit  of  the  times. 

Mr.  White  had  been  a  member  of  the  Pittsburg  Confer- 
ence, and  subsequently  of  the  Illinois  Conference.  The 
climate  not  suiting  his  health,  he  moved  to  Missouri,  and 
here  united  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South, 
and  was  stationed  in  Lexington  for  the  second  year.  Sus- 
picions and  prejudices  arose  against  him  because  he  came 
from  Chicago.  These  were  much  strengthened  when  it  was 
known  that  he  was  the  friend  of  Mr.  Lincoln  at  and  after 
his  election  in  November,  1860.  He  was  violently  assailed 
by  two  secession  old  maids,  members  of  his  Church,  and 
they  were  industrious  in  spreading  the  news  of  his  being 
an  abolitionist.  After  this,  two  of  his  congregation  met 
on  the  street,  and  the  following  dialogue  ensued :  "  Well, 
brother  E.,  did  you  know  that  our  preacher  is  a  Black  Re- 
publican?" "No,  I  did  not,  and  I  think  you  must  be  mis- 
taken." "  I  can  not  be  mistaken,  for  the  information  has 
come  to  me  very  direct — from  a  lady  who  heard  him  sus- 
tain the  Administration." 

30 


354  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

On  Monday,  the  post-office  brought  the  following  note : 
"LAFAYETTE  COUNTY,  Mo.,  May  11,  1861. 

"REV.  MR.  WHITE, — You  are  believed  to  be  an  abolition- 
ist of  the  deepest  dye  and  opposed  to  the  institution  of 
slavery.  It  would  be  well  for  you  to  leave  Missouri  imme- 
diately, as  you  are  aware  the  war  of  extermination  has 
commenced  in  the  State.  Your  wife  is  also  known  to  be 
abolition  from  birth.  It  is  believed  by  many  of  your  con- 
gregation that  you  have  no  religion,  and  are  nothing  more 
than  an  abolition  fanatic,  and  imposed  yourself  on  us 
falsely." 

Mr.  White  was  met  in  all  directions  with  the  charge 
of  being  an  abolitionist,  and  so  intense  was  the  feeling  that 
he  concluded  to  leave  at  once,  without  his  goods ;  the  con- 
gregation owing  him  $500  of  arrears,  which,  we  presume, 
he  never  received.  But  he  got  away  with  his  life,  which 
was  a  very  fortunate  event  under  the  circumstances. 

2.  Rev.  James  Lee,  formerly  a  member  of  the  Missouri 
Conference,  but  now  a,  local  preacher  near  Kansas  City,  at- 
tending his  farm  and  preaching  the  Gospel  to  his  neighbors 
with  great  fidelity,  wrote  us  from  Auburn,  Kansas,  Decem- 
ber 12,  1861 : 

"  DEAR  BROTHER  ELLIOTT, — By  the  superintending  prov- 
idence of  my  Heavenly  Father,  I  am  safe  amid  kind  friends 
in  the  State  of  Kansas,  having  barely  escaped  from  the 
rebels'  grasp  in  Missouri.  But  my  dear  family  are  still 
there  if  they  have  permitted  them  to  live.  On  the  8th 
November,  three  armed  men  came  in  the  night,  called  us 
up,  and  demanded  two  horses,  which  they  took  away. 
They  requested  that  I  should  come  out,  as  they  wanted 
to  shoot  me ;  and,  not  making  my  appearance,  they  de- 
clared the  first  sight  they  got  of  me  they  would  shoot 
me  down.  After  consultation  and  prayer  I  determined 
in  the  morning  to  leave  home  and  all  that  was  dear  to 


EVENTS  OF  DECEMBER,  1861.  355 

me  in  the  world  and  flee  to  Kansas  City,  as  a  place  of 
safety,  supposing  when  I  was  gone  my  family  might  re- 
main unmolested,  and  I  be  near  to  render  assistance  if 
necessary.  On  the  day  after  I  left  home,  ten  ruffians,  all 
armed,  surrounded  my  dwelling,  entered  my  house,  and 
made  a  diligent  search  for  me  in  all  the  premises.  They 
returned  the  following  day  for  the  same  purpose,  but  I  was 
in  Kansas  City,  twenty  miles  away.  On  the  23d  of  No- 
vember several  of  my  neighbors  were  compelled  to  leave 
their  homes  and  come  to  Kansas  City  with  Jennison's  com- 
mand, and  several  of  them  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church."  From  Auburn,  Kansas,  he  continues : 
"  Here  I  am  in  a  state  of  suspense,  one  hundred  miles 
from  my  dear  wife  and  children,  and  not  permitted  to  re- 
turn, except  at  the  risk  of  life.  All  this  because  I  am  a 
minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  love  the 
laws  and  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  My  dear  Doc- 
tor, if  I  can  get  my  family  out  here  safe,  I  can  say,  fare- 
well farm,  house,  stock,  and  crop.  All  is  nothing  if  wife 
and  children  are  safe. 

"  A  good  brother,  a  local  preacher,  of  the  name  of  L. 
Steward,  on  the  Independence  circuit,  was  murdered  in  No- 
vember last,  in  our  neighborhood.  His  body  has  not  yet 
been  found ;  but  the  rebels  who  committed  the  dark  deed 
are  known,  yet  there  is  no  justice  enforced.  Murder  can 
be  committed  with  impunity  by  the  rebels,  and  there  ap- 
pears to  be  but  little  protection  from  the  Federal  forces  for 
Union  men.  They  are  driving  them  out  of  the  State.  Such 
is  the  State  of  affairs  in  Jackson  county,  and  the  border 
counties  generally.  A  more  vigorous  and  rigid  course  will 
have  to  be  pursued  ere  Missouri  is  at  peace." 

3.  While  Rev.  N.  Shumate  was  on  his  journey  as  chap- 
lain in  the  army,  on  its  march  from  Jefferson  City  to  Spring- 
field, through  Boonville  and  Sedalia,  in  June,  1861,  several 


356  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

incidents  of  a  curious  character  occurred.  This  region  was 
comprised  in  his  district.  While  at  Boonville  he  called  to 
see  a  local  preacher  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
when  the  following  interview  ensued:1 

"I  chanced  to  make  some  noise  at  the  gate,  which  brought 
my  friend  to  the  door,  and,  on  seeing  a  man  in  blue,  and 
buttoned  up  to  the  chin,  he  raised  his  hands  and  eyes  in 
holy  horror,  and  exclaimed,  'Is  it  possible  you  are  here 
among  these  men?'  '0,  yes,  brother  H.,  I  am  here  among 
these  men.  Does  it  disturb  your  nerves  to  see  a  Federal 
soldier?'  said  I.  'Ah,'  said  he,  'I  am  sorry  to  see  a  minis- 
ter of  Christ  among  these  invaders  of  the  sacred  rights  of  a 
sovereign  State.'  'Is  it  possible,'  said  I,  'you  have  turned 
traitor  to  the  Government,  and  are  among  those  who  are 
trying  to  ruin  the  State  of  Missouri?  I  am  astonished.' 
A  few  words  more  passed  between  us,  when  he  asked  for 
his  certificate  of  membership  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  but  I  declined,  on  the  ground  that  all  traitors 
ought  to  be  hung,  and  that  a  man  who  ought  to  be  hanged 
could  not  be  an  acceptable  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  This  is  the  only  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  I  found  among  the  secessionists." 

While  on  march  toward  Springfield  our  chaplain  was  on 
General  Kelton's  staff,  and  had  not  yet  appeared  in  uniform; 
but  on  the  march  he  put  on  his  uniform,  and  rode  out  in 
front  of  the  regiment,  with  the  other  field  officers,  encour- 
aging the  men,  who  vociferously  cheered  their  officers,  and 
proceeded  on  their  march  with  renewed  alacrity. 

4.  At  the  close  of  the  year  1861  the  following  sentiments 
were  uttered,  in  an  editorial,  December  25th.  The  expulsion 
of  Union  men  from  the  State  was  carried  on  by  a  variety 
of  expedients.  Bishop  Pierce  was  a  prime  counselor  in  this 
business  of  expatriation,  and  many  Southern  Methodists 

1  Central  Christian  Advocate,  p.  201,  col.  5. 


EVENTS  OF  DECEMBER,  1861.  357 

were  active  and  efficient  cooperatives.  Our  utterances  then 
were: 

"0  that  we  could  reach  our  scattered  and  peeled  people 
with  a  word  of  comfort !  We  have  to  say,  Your  God  reign- 
eth  in  Missouri.  This  State  is  now  ravaged  as  she  attempted 
to  ravage  Kansas,  thus  to  establish  oppression  in  Kansas,  in 
the  hope  of  continuing  it  in  Missouri.  In  the  fifteen  months 
of  your  persecution  since  the  martyrdom  of  Bewley,  our 
Stephen,  one-third  of  the  slaves  of  Missouri  have  been 
taken  from  the  State  by  flight,  sale,  or  otherwise.  Kansas 
is  free.  The  power  of  slavery  and  persecution  is  broken  in 
Missouri.  The  State  is  in  the  Union,  and  will  remain  there. 
Bishop  Simpson,  in  a  few  days  from  now — December  20th — 
will  commence  the  work  of  reconstruction  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  Missouri.  Pray  for  your  enemies,  per- 
secutors, and  slanderers.  Our  cause  will  soon  commence  in 
this  loyal  State.  If  some  of  the  persecuted  ones  never  re- 
turn, thousands  will  come  in  their  places,  ten  to  one.  Re- 
bellion, and  the  entails  of  murder,  robbery,  and  perjury, 
will  soon  be  totally  crushed  out  of  this  State. 

"  Brethren,  prepare  your  banners.  We  are  preparing 
ours.  This  day  we  thrust  out  our  old  flag  from  our  win- 
dow. Our  sign  is  in  the  artist's  hand,  namely,  the  Central 
Christian  Advocate  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
organized  in  1784 — not  1844.  There  it  is.  Our  new  flag 
will  soon  be  in  readiness  with  its  insignia,  not  only  of 
stripes,  and  thirty-four  stars,  but  also  of  GOD  AND  LIBERTY, 
E  PLURIBUS  UNUM,  PRESERVE  THE  UNION,  etc.  Let  each 
refugee  from  Missouri  procure  a  little  flag  and  hold  it  up 
wherever  he  may  be.  Stick  one  on  your  horse's  head ;  fix 
it  to  your  wagon ;  hold  it  in  your  hand. 

"  What  a  time  we  expect  to  have  in  St.  Louis  when  our 
next  Conference  meets !  We  may  then,  like  the  primitive 
Christians,  rehearse  the  names  and  sufferings  of  the  martyrs 


358  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

of  the  South  -West.  In  the  mean  time,  let  the  dispersed 
ones  remember  Missouri,  as  the  Israelites  remembered  Je- 
rusalem and  Zion,  while  their  harps  remained  unstrung 
during  the  seventy  years  of  captivity. 

"  Our  Conference  love-feast  must  be  protracted  several 
times  in  order  to  give  utterance  to  the  pent-up  emotions 
of  the  Conference  year  1861-62.  We  would  be  glad  to 
have  Messrs.  Haven,  of  Boston ;  M'Clintock,  of  Paris ; 
Thomson,  Wise,  and  Whedon,  of  New  York;  Eddy,  of 
Chicago;  Kingsley,  Clark,  and  Nast,  of  Cincinnati;  and 
some  from  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  and  Peter  Cartwright 
and  Dr.  Akers,  there  to  witness  and  join  in  the  lo  triumphe; 
and  then  we  should  want  all  to  unite  in  some  good  Union 
Psalm,  such  as  '  Hail  Columbia]  or  '  The  Star-Spangled 
Banner?  Friends,  prepare  for  the  occasion." 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  359 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

EVENTS  OF  1862. 

1.  DR.  M' ANALLY  commenced  editorially,  in  the  year  of 
grace  1862,  an  elaborate  defense  of  slavery.  In  his  paper 
of  January  9th,  and  four  successive  numbers,  he  pleaded 
earnestly  for  this  iniquitous  system.  He  maintains  fhe 
doctrine  of  his  Church  in  the  following  words: 

"  She  [the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South]  believes 
that  the  relation  of  master  and  servant  is  recognized  by  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  and  so  it  is.  She  believes  that  with  that 
relation,  she,  as  a  Church,  has  nothing  to  do.  Neither  did 
the  blessed  Savior,  nor  his  apostles,  nor  the  primitive 
Church  interfere  with  the  relation,  although  it  existed  all 
around  them." 

He  then  states  the  subject  as  follows: 

"  1.  Was  slavery  sanctioned  by  the  Almighty  in  the 
patriarchal  ages,  or  was  it  not? 

"  2.  Was,  or  was  it  not,  incorporated  into  the  only 
National  Constitution  which  ever  came  from  God  to  man? 

"  3.  Was,  or  was  not,  its  lawfulness  recognized  and  its 
moral  duties  regulated  by  Christ  and  his  inspired  apostles? 

"  4.  Considered  as  an  institution  of  society,  is  it  one  of 
cruelty  or  of  mercy?" 

The  Doctor,  in  his  five  long  editorials,  attempts  to  show 
that  slavery  was  sanctioned  by  God  among  the  patriarchs ; 
that  it  was  incorporated  by  him  in  the  Jewish  law;  that 
Christ  and  his  apostles  sanctioned  it;  and  that  it  was  an 
institution  of  mercy. 


360  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

On  the  5th  of  February  we  addressed  ourself,  in  the 
Central  Christian  Advocate,  to  the  false  reasonings  of  Dr. 
M'Anally  in  the  following  language : 

"  PLEAS  FOR  MAN-STEALING. — Our  late  neighbor  of  the 
St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate,  between  whom  and  ourself 
now  three  squares  intervene,  has  in  his  last  three  numbers 
come  out  in  favor  of  stealing  men,  women,  and  children. 
The  Spartans,  to  be  sure,  taught  their  children  to  steal ; 
but  Dr.  M'Anally  declares  that  the  Almighty  teaches 
certain  men  to  steal,  that  his  laws  approve  even  theft  of 
human  bodies  and  souls,  although  it  might  be  wrong  to 
take  another's  money.  It  is  true  God  formerly  enacted 
the  express  prohibition,  '  Thou  shalt  not  steal.'  He  also 
declares,  '  He  that  stealeth  a  man  and  selleth  him,  or  if  he 
be  found  in  his  hand,  he  shall  surely  be  put  to  death.' 
This  is  repeated  by  Moses  and  recognized  as  God's  law  by 
Paul,  who  classes  the  man-stealer  with  the  murderer  of 
parents  and  the  perjurer.  Dr.  M'Anally  insists,  however, 
that  God,  in  the  only  government  instituted  by  him, 
authorized  slavery,  and  therefore  theft ;  for-  every  slave  is 
a  stolen  man,  and  every  one  that  holds  or  keeps  a  slave, 
except  to  free  him,  is  a  man-stealer.  Our  former  neighbor 
brings  Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles  into  the  slave  sham- 
bles, and  has  them  engaged  in  this  thievish  traffic,  as  if  it 
were  the  most  holy  thing  in  the  world  to  sell  human  beings 
or  breed  slaves.  Editor  M'Anally,  however,  and  those  of 
his  stripe,  contend  that  it  is  hugely  wrong  for  abolitionists 
to  steal  negroes.  But  abolitionists  when  they  do  steal,  as 
some  of  them  do,  commit  the  theft  that  they  may  restore 
the  object  stolen  to  its  proper  owner,  that  is,  to  himself. 
But  our  friend  Mac.  contends  for  the  right  of  stealing 
when  the  stolen  property  is  never  to  be  restored  to  its 
rightful  owner,  but  to  be  thievishly  held  by  the  robber 
while  he  sanctimoniously  quotes  Scripture  to  palliate  and 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  361 

justify  a  larceny,  the  violence  of  which  is  reprobated  by  the 
moral  impulses  of  every  ingenuous,  unbiased  nature,"  etc. 

The  foregoing,  we  allow,  was  no  very  unctuous  retort,  but 
when  a  minister,  calling  himself  a  Methodist,  became  a 
special  pleader  against  the  Government,  and  for  rebellion 
and  slavery,  we  believed  then,  as  we  do  now,  that  sharp 
reproof  was  called  for,  especially  so  since  at  that  very  time 
Missouri  was  in  peril  of  being  transferred  to  the  Southern 
Confederacy,  of  which  slavery  was  proclaimed  to  be  the 
corner-stone. 

2.  On    January  first  of  this   year  we   made   a   plea   in 
behalf   of  the    Central   Christian    Advocate,   directing   our 
appeal   to  the  Book  Agents,  Bishops,  Annual  Conferences, 
and    the    Book    Committees,    but    more    especially   to    the 
patronizing  Conferences.     This  plea  appeared   in  the  first 
number  of  the  year.     The  wants  of  the  South-West  were 
urgently  set  forth.     The  war  and  persecutions  had  deprived 
us   of  almost  all   our  patronage  from   Missouri,  Arkansas, 
and  Kansas.     With  the  view  of  saving  its  life,  the  Central 
Christian  Advocate  was  diminished  in  size,  while  the  other 
two  papers,  circulating  in  the  same  region,  were  enlarged. 
All  these  pressures  seemed  to  conspire  to  crowd  the  Central 
Christian    Advocate    out   of  existence,    notwithstanding   its 
great  importance  to  the   religious   interests  of  the  South- 
West. 

3.  The    vicissitudes    experienced    by   Rev.    John    Linan 
about  this  time  constitute  a  mournful  case.     He  had  been 
stationed  on  Jackson  circuit,  in  the  vicinity  of  Cape  Girar- 
deau,  surrounded  with  secessionists.     He  was  formally  noti- 
fied  to  leave   the   country,  on  pain  of  being  maltreated  as 
one  worthy  of  any  punishment,  however  extreme,  and   for 
no  other  assignable  cause  than  that  he  was  a  preacher  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.     After  enduring  much  hard- 
ness as  a  good  soldier,  he,  at  last,  quit  that  region,  leaving 

31 


362  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

his  wife  and  children  there  by  necessity  for  several  months, 
he  himself  becoming  a  wanderer,  without  home,  business,  or 
support.  After  much  delay,  he  got  his  family  in  safety  to 
St.  Louis,  and  there  for  some  time,  without  pastoral  charge 
or  employ  of  any  sort,  and,  hence,  without  income,  he 
brooked  all  the  cold  privations  of  poverty.  In  the  year 
1864,  by  Price's  second  invasion,  he  was  again  forced  to 
flee  to  St.  Louis  as  a  place  of  safety.  But  this  good  man 
bore  all  these  afflictions  with  a  spirit  of  martyrdom  that 
would  have  done  credit  to  the  times  of  primitive  Chris- 
tianity. 

4.  It  has  often  been  stated  by  Conservatives  in  Missouri, 
as  they  were  called,  in  February,  1862,  that  after  Price  was 
driven  from  the  State,  secession  was  entirely  crushed  out 
in  Missouri.  A  writer  from  Kansas  City,  February  2d, 
gives  a  very  different  view  of  this  subject,  and  adduces 
facts  to  the  contrary.  His  statements  are  reliable.  Here 
are  some  of  the  deeds  perpetrated :  The  raising  of  the 
rebel  flag  in  Kansas  City  by  some  fifteen  hundred  secession- 
ists ;  the  robbing  of  the  Liberty  Arsenal  of  a  large  amount 
of  United  States  arms  and  ammunition  by  the  citizens  of 
Independence,  Westport,  and  Kansas  City;  the  firing  into 
Union  men's  houses,  by  men  who  were  once  or  are  now  in 
Price's  army;  in  August,  1861,  driving  all  the  Union  men 
who  dared  to  speak  their  sentiments  from  their  homes,  rob- 
bing them  of  their  stock,  and  threatening  their  lives;  go- 
ing, in  September,  in  vast  numbers  to  Lexington,  and  par- 
ticipating in  that  battle,  furnishing  food  and  clothing  to  the 
enemy,  and  insulting  Federal  prisoners  on  their  way  home, 
refusing  them  water,  food,  etc.;  in  October,  waylaying  our 
troops;  in  November,  burning  a  train  of  Government 
wagons,  and  driving  away  all  the  cattle,  after  having  sold 
the  cattle  to  the  Government;  in  December,  firing  into 
Union  men's  houses  in  Independence,  tearing  down  the 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  363 

American  flag,  robbing  the  mail  and  seizing  the  stages  and 
horses ;  in  January,  killing  a  disabled  Federal  soldier,  and 
robbing  the  mail  and  express. 

These  are  mere  sample  deeds  of  the  lawlessness  prevail- 
ing in  Missouri,  especially  in  the  two  tiers  of  counties  along 
the  Kansas  line.  And  these  acts  were  done  by  the  very 
men,  who,  when  Federal  troops  were  in  their  vicinity,  were 
loudest  in  their  protestations  of  loyalty  to  the  country. 
These  were  forward  in  procuring  safeguards  from  our  officers 
by  sycophantic  conduct,  and  knowingly  and  willingly  per- 
jured themselves  by  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
United  States  as  a  mask  of  protection  in  their  acts  of  re- 
bellion. Besides,  these  perjured  men  calling  themselves 
"  loyal  Missourians,"  permitted  Hays,  Quantril,  and  others 
of  that  sort,  to  come  into  their  towns  and  neighborhoods, 
to  commit  depredations  on  Union  men,  giving  them  aid  and 
comfort  in  their  fiendish  ravages.  Of  such  there  was  a 
very  large  number  in  the  Spring  of  1862,  who  had  studied 
various  plans  to  deceive  the  Government,  and  succeeded  to 
a  perilous  extent  in  undoing  what  the  General  Government 
had  done.  This  class  of  men,  as  a  matter  of  course,  afforded 
all  possible  aid  and  comfort  to  General  Price,  in  invading 
Missouri  in  the  Fall  of  1864,  rendering  him  all  the  assist- 
ance they  could  in  ravaging  the  country  anew. 

5.  The  Southern  Methodist  preachers  of  Missouri  were 
almost  a  unit  on  the  side  of  the  rebels.  At  this  time,  how- 
ever, two  or  three,  who  were  from  the  first  on  the  side  of 
the  Union,  declared  their  protest  against  their  disloyal 
Church,  and  were  only  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  unite 
with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Several  Southern  Methodist  preachers  were  put  in  jail 
in  St.  Louis  and  elsewhere.  Van  Cockerel,  who  had  en- 
camped with  five  hundred  men  near  Columbus,  was  captured 
by  Jemison,  and  this  ministerial  traitor  was  then,  it  is  said, 


364  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

lodged  in  the  military  prison.  Rev.  Mr.  Caples,  of  the  Mis- 
souri Conference,  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  was 
put  in  close  confinement  for  lecturing  other  prisoners  in 
favor  of  rebellion.  He  was  General  Price's  chaplain,  as 
Price  had  been  class-leader  under  Caples.  Two  other  South- 
ern Methodist  preachers  were  also  in  jail  here.  After  some 
time  Mr.  Caples  was  sent  to  the  Alton  prison,  and  was  sub- 
sequently let  out  on  parole.  He  figured  very  prominently 
at  his  Conference,  in  Missouri,  and  tenaciously  sustained 
his  own  and  his  Church's  secession  proclivities.  The  fol- 
lowing paragraphs  are  taken  from  the  St.  Joseph  Herald,  as 
there  reported: 

"  Pious  BLASPHEMY  PUNISHED. — Dr.  Caples,  a  former 
chaplain  in  the  rebel  army,  and  latterly  a  citizen  of  Glas- 
gow, having  charge  of  the  Methodist  Church  South  in  that 
place,  whom  General  Fisk,  under  a  heavy  penalty,  required 
to  superintend  the  keeping  of  the  telegraph  in  order  in  his 
district,  was  advised  by  the  Union  officers  to  keep  out  of  the 
way  of  rebel  shells.  He  replied  that  God  had  put  a  "band 
of  iron  around  him,  and  the  shells  of  his  friends,  the  'Con- 
federates,' would  never  harm  him;  but,  shortly  after  utter- 
ing this  exclamation,  a  shell  came  screaming  through  the 
air  and  carried  away  one  of  his  legs  close  to  the  body,  and 
he  died  in  a  few  hours." 

"MAJOR  PORTER  AND  THE  REVEREND  REBEL,  MR.  CA- 
PLES, OF  GLASGOW. — During  the  late  battle  of  the  Forty- 
Third,  at  Glasgow,  Major  Porter,  who  is  surgeon  on  General 
Fisk's  staff,  had  charge  of  the  hospital,  and,  while  busily 
engaged  in  attending  wounded  soldiers,  received  notice  that 
Rev.  Mr.  Caples  was  wounded,  and  desired  his  immediate 
attention.  The  Major  sent  word  that  he  was  engaged,  but 
if  they  would  send  Rev.  Mr.  Caples  to  the  hospital  he  would 
see  that  he  had  every  attention.  The  family  returned  word 
that  'they  would  never  consent  to  Mr.  Caples  entering  a 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  365 

Federal  hospital,  and  the  doctor  must  visit  the  house.'  The 
Major  returned  word  that,  if  the  reverend  gentleman  died 
and  went  to  hell,  he  would  not  neglect  wounded  Federal 
soldiers  to  attend  on  a  rebel.  This  Rev.  Mr.  Caples  was 
formerly  chaplain  on  Price's  staff,  and  sneaked  into  the 
Federal  lines,  took  the  oath,  and  gave  bond,  and  was  a  star 
preacher  in  the  Southern  Methodist  Church.  We  would 
like  to  have  some  one  furnish  the  names  of  a  half  dozen 
loyal  preachers  in  that  Church." 

6.  At  the  opening  of  1862  we  penned  an  editorial  for  our 
paper,  the  Central  Christian  Advocate,  from  which  the  fol- 
lowing is  an  extract: 

"Several  meetings  of  our  leading  brethren,  the  bishop, 
Dr.  Clark,  and  Rev.  Henry  Cox  have  been  held  in  reference 
to  our  spiritual  affairs  in  St.  Louis.  The  chief  question 
considered  was  a  reorganization  of  our  Church,  and  the  for- 
mation of  a  central  congregation  around  which  our  friends 
may  now  rally.  Union  and  disunion  now  divide  the  Prot- 
estant Churches  generally  in  St.  Louis,  except  our  own, 
which  is  one,  and  Union  only,  without  any  disunion  element 
whatever.  Our  members,  whom  the  times  have  dispersed 
among  other  Churches  of  the  city,  are  now  inquiring  most 
earnestly  after  the  ordinances  and  communion  of  their  spir- 
itual alma  mater.  The  neglected  harps  which,  during  years 
of  captivity,  have  hung  unstrung,  are  now  taken  down  and 
being  put  in  tune  for  such  songs  as  the  one  hundred  and 
thirty-third  Psalm.  At  a  concluding  meeting,  held  in  our 
office,  on  the  2d  inst.,  by  a  few  brethren,  utterances  were 
made  and  prospects  presented  which  truly  refreshed  all 
present.  We  may  say,  in  general  terms,  we  have  no  doubt 
but  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  will  rise  in  this  city 
with  the  same  vigor  which  characterizes  it  in  Northern 
cities.  We  make  these  statements  for  the  gratification  of 
our  friends  throughout  the  State  and  the  entire  country. 


366  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

"We  are  quite  sure  we  do  not  overstate  the  matter,  and  that 
time  not  far  distant  will  verify  our  declarations. 

"In  conclusion  we  would  say,  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  will  have  a  glorious  future  in  Missouri.  Its  loyalty 
and  stability  will  recommend  it  to  citizens  of  the  State,  be- 
cause it  has  stood  as  a  unit  for  the  country  at  large,  and 
has  never  been  the  tool  of  nor  mixed  itself  with  party  pol- 
itics, nor  encouraged  lawlessness  in  any  form  whatever." 

7.  Union  Church,  in  St.  Louis,  forms  the  pleasing  topic 
of  discussion  in  this  paragraph.  This  magnificent  structure, 
corner  of  Eleventh  and  Locust  streets,  was  built  by  the 
Presbyterians,  in  1850,  at  a  cost  of  $90,000,  including 
parsonage  and  furniture.  It  was  purchased,  March  14,  1862, 
for  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  St.  Louis,  and 
although  the  cost — $37,300 — was  small  compared  with  its 
actual  value,  yet  it  required  men  of  faith  and  courage  to 
assume  its  payment  at  such  a  time.  The  edifice  is  one 
hundred  and  twenty  feet  on  Locust  by  eighty-one  on  Elev- 
enth-street. The  hight  of  the  main  tower  is  one  hundred 
and  sixty  feet,  that  of  the  other  one  hundred  and  four  feet. 

The  purchase  of  this  church  was  greatly  promoted  by- 
the  untiring  zeal  and  labors  of  Rev.  Henry  Cox.  He  had 
great  skill  and  much  experience  in  such  enterprises,  having 
been  principal  in  building  a  large  and  beautiful  church  in 
Newark,  New  Jersey,  and  having,  also,  just  emancipated 
Wabash  Avenue  Church,  in  Chicago,  from  a  debt  of  $25,000 
or  $30,000,  besides  several  other  achievements  of  like  kind. 
The  brethren  in  St.  Louis  greatly  coveted  his  services  as 
pastor.  To  meet  this  case  Dr.  Cox,  with  a  committee  from 
St.  Louis,  attended  a  meeting  of  the  bishops,  at  Springfield, 
Ohio,  where  the  committee's  request  had  a  favorable  hearing. 
He  next  visited  St.  Louis,  and  raised  one  thousand  dollars 
among  our  people,  with  which  to  close  a  written  contract 
for  the  church.  He  then  speedily  raised  five  thousand 


UNION  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH, 

Corner  of  Eleventh  and  Locust  Streets, 

ST.  LOUIS,   MO. 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  369 

dollars  in  St.  Louis,  which  secured  us  the  occupancy  of 
the  building  for  the  Missouri  Conference,  opening  Febru- 
ary 26,  1862.  The  following  Summer  he  went  eastward 
and  collected  six  thousand  dollars,  which  was  applied  on 
the  remaining  debt.  While  the  Doctor  was  pressing  these 
financial  measures  with  remarkable  activity,  the  spiritual  in- 
terests of  his  charge  were  husbanded  with  like  perseverance 
and  success.  We  question  whether  the  success  of  this  en- 
terprise has  a  parallel  in  the  Union.  Three  years  from  the 
day  of  its  purchase  this  noble  temple  was  wholly  paid  for. 
Its  congregation  was,  during  these  years,  the  largest  Prot- 
estant one  in  the  city.  The  membership  had  grown  to  over 
four  hundred,  and  the  Sunday  school  reached  about  the 
same  number. 

8.  The  session  of  the  Missouri  Conference,  commencing 
February  26,  1862,  was  an  important  event  in  Missouri 
Methodism.  Our  entire  white  membership  in  St.  Louis  did 
not  exceed  eighty-two,  thirty-two  of  whom  belonged  at 
Simpson  Chapel,  and  the  rest  were  the  remnants  of  Eben- 
ezer  and  Hedding  charges.  In  addition  to  these  we  had  a 
small  colored  congregation,  but  their  existence  hung  upon 
a  very  slender  thread.  Their  church  might  be  closed  any 
hour  by  the  rebels,  following  the  precedent  of  their  violent 
expulsion  from  their  Church  by  Southern  Methodists  after 
their  secession. 

The  process  of  proscription  and  expatriation  had  been 
most  assiduously  plied  in  St.  Louis  as  well  as  abroad  in  the 
State.  The  fell  curse  visited  on  our  cause  was  made  so 
exhaustive  that  we  were  almost  without  a  people.  For  over 
six  months  our  fragmentary  charges  had  been  without  pas- 
tors, they  being  driven  into  the  army  for  personal  safety, 
as  well  as  through  tUe  double  pressure  of  duty  to  their 
country  and  their  families. 

When  we  were  unexpectedly  sent  to  St.  Louis  to  edit  the 


370  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Central  Christian  Advocate,  Dr.  M'Anally  twitted  brothers 
Shumate,  Huffman,  and  others,  and  proclaimed  aloud  that 
he  would  soon  prostrate  Dr.  Elliott,  "  the  abolitionist  of 
terrible  dimensions,"  as  Dr.  Long-street  had  christened  us 
in  the  dozen  letters  he  wrote  against  us  for  the  South  Caro- 
lina Advocate,  1845,  and  which  were  copied  in  most  of  the 
other  Southern  Methodist  papers.  We- count  this  cognomen 
conferred  upon  us  as  peculiar  and  special  honor,  and,  al- 
though little  given  to  vanity,  were  we  to  glory  in  any  thing 
about  ourself,  we  would  make  this  the  theme  of  exultation. 

Although  Dr.  M'Anally  plied  the  work  of  prostrating  us 
with  special  relish,  he  was  doornecl  to  succeed  little  better 
than  in  his  labored  efforts  to  destroy  his  country  and  found 
his  ideal  Confederacy. 

At  the  appointed  time,  more  members  of  the  scattered 
Conference  were  present  to  respond  to  roll-call  than  might 
reasonably  have  been  expected,  and  the  Spirit  animating 
them  may  justly  be  characterized  as  apostolic. 

We  copy  a  report  of  the  occasion  prepared  for  The  Meth- 
odist of  March  8,  1862,  by  AN  OLD  WESTERN  PIONEER,  St. 
Louis,  March  1st: 

"  THE  MISSOURI  CONFERENCE. — Interesting  proceedings — 
The  Oath  of  allegiance  taken  by  the  entire  Conference.  The 
Missouri  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
opened  its  session  in  St.  Louis,  February  26th,  Bishop 
Simpson  presiding.  His  health  is  now  poor,  but  is  some- 
what improved.  The  session  was  held  in  the  Union  Pres- 
byterian Church,  corner  of  Locust  and  Eleventh  streets. 
This  church  was  recently  purchased  by  the  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  St.  Louis,  and  possession  is 
to  be  given  on  the  14th  of  March.  The  Conference,  on  the 
first  day  of  the  session,  passed  a  resolution  requesting  the 
Provost  Marshal  to  come  to  the  church  and  administer  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  entire  Conference.  The  hour  was 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  371 

set  for  Friday,  at  ten  o'clock,  A.  M.  /  The  names  of  the 
Conference  were  called,  and  all  stood  up  in  a  circle,  with 
the  Bishop  at  their  head,  and  Doctors  Elliott  and  Poe. 
After  the  oath  was  administered,  each  man  signed  his  name 
to  the  paper.  This  being  done,  several  speeches  were  de- 
livered. 

"  It  should  be  mentioned  that  Dr.  Elliott's  flag  had  for 
the  first  time  been  exhibited  on  the  occasion,  with  its  ex- 
pressive mottoes  in  beautiful  embroidered  letters,  which 
presented  a  flag,  in  many  respects,  different  from  all  others. 
After  the  ceremonies  of  the  oath  had  been  performed,  with- 
out any  previous  programme,  several  persons  were  called, 
and  short  speeches  were  delkvered,  of  which  the  following 
is  a  brief  outline.  The  Provost  Marshal,  General  Farrar, 
was  called  on,  and  addressed  the  Conference,  and  the  vis- 
itors, who  had  increased  to  a  respectable  congregation  : 

."The  Provost  Marshal  rose  to  a  general  call,  and  briefly 
said  it  had  been  his  pleasant  duty  to  be  present  at  the 
meeting  of  the  Conference,  and  he  viewed  their  proceedings 
with  much  interest.  It  was  refreshing  to  find  such  an  ex- 
hibition of  voluntary  obedience  affirmed  to  the  Constitution 
and  laws  of  our  glorious  Union.  When  he  remembered 
the  number  of  secessionists  who  had  come  to  his  office  since 
the  fall  of  Forts  Henry  and  Donelson,  and  our  recent 
victories  elsewhere,  he  could  but  contrast  their  action  with 
that  of  the  present  assembly,  and  question  the  existence  of 
a  loyalty  so  slow  of  development  and  uncertain  in  tenure. 
The  damnable  heresy  of  secession  had  so  dried  up  the 
fountains  of  his  faith  in,  he  regretted  to  say,  many  of  his 
fellow-countrymen  and  citizens  of  Missouri,  that  it  became 
to  him  a  most  pleasant  duty  to  turn  away  from  them  and 
fraternize  with  men  who  had  been  always  loyal.  The  meet- 
ing and  the  occasion  afforded  him  much  gratification,  and 
he  predicted  a  prosperous  future  for  all  as  a  result  of  their 


372  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

harmonious  and  patriotic  action.  The  General  was  loudly 
cheered  in  many  parts  of  his  address,  of  which  we  give  but 
a  brief  synopsis,  doing  feeble  justice  to  the  effort. 

"  Rev.  A.  Poe,  of  Cincinnati,  on  call,  rose,  saying,  as  he 
was  a  preacher,  he  preferred,  in  speaking  or  in  preaching, 
to  take  a  text,  and  by  consent  would  now  take  one — the 
Twenty-Third  Article  of  Religion  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  He  then  read  as  follows :  '  The  President, 
the  Congress,  the  General  Assemblies,  the  Governors,  and 
Councils  of  State,  as  the  delegates  of  the  people,  are  the, 
rulers  of  the  United  States  of  America,  according  to  the 
division  of  power  made  to  them  by  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  by  the  Constitutions  of  their  respective 
States.  And  the  said  States  are  a  SOVEREIGN  and  INDE- 
PENDENT NATION,  and  ought  not  to  be  subject  to  any  for- 
eign jurisdiction.'  He  remarked,  the  Provost  Marshal  has 
just  commended  us  for  being  always  loyal.  He  thought 
no  credit  was  due  to  them  for  this,  as  they  would  be  here- 
tics if  they  were  not  loyal,  according  to  their  own  book. 
Let  it  be  borne  in  mind,  that  the  Methodist  minister  who 
does  not  sustain  the  Government  of  the  United  States  is  a 
heretic.  Formerly,  heretics  were  burned,  but  as  a  more 
merciful  punishment,  he  would  suggest  that  they  be  no 
more  than  hanged.  Our  brethren  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  South  have  the  same  articles,  but  they  pro- 
posed at  their  General  Conference  in  May  next — he  doubted 
if  they  would  get  there — to  change  this  article  to  read, 
'Rulers  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America.'  He  had 
the  good  fortune  to  be  born  in  Ohio.  It  was  a  good  State, 
not  only  to  be  born  in  and  emigrate  from,  but  to  stay  in. 
They  all  were  loyal,  and  therefore  no  necessity  for  admin- 
istering the  oath  there.  But  he  regarded  this  article  of 
religion  with  special  interest,  as  being  equivalent  to  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  all  Methodist  ministers. 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  373 

"Rev.  Dr.  Elliott,  editor  of  the  Central  Christian  Advo- 
cate, was  called  out  and  said,  he  would  call  attention  to  a 
beautiful  silk  embroidered  flag  wl|ich  hung  before  the  audi- 
ence. He  would  speak  of  it  historically  and  expositorially. 
About  a  year  ago,  it  will  be  remembered  there  was  hung 
out  in  the  center  of  the  city  a  rebel  flag.  He  so  hated  it 
that  he  never  looked  at  it  to  ascertain  what  were  its  symbols, 
but  heard  people  say  there  was  a  rattlesnake  on  it.  Could 
not  vouch  for  the  truth  of  it.  He  remembered  many  stories 
about  snakes,  big  and  little.  There  was  one  well  authenti- 
cated, about  a  snake  in  the  garden  of  Eden.  Most  of  us 
know  the  trouble  and  woe  that  snake  caused.  It  was  the 
old  Apollyon  himself.  The  story  goes  that  after  that  time 
it  was  only  his  apprentices  that  were  sent  out  to  deceive 
the  people,  but  he  believed  that  now,  in  this  rebellion,  it 
was  demonstrated  that  the  old  fellow  had  come  out  again 
in  propria  persona.  Last  Fourth  of  July  he  invested 
twenty-five  cents  in  a  little  Union  flag,  and  hung  it  out 
gloriously  from  the  third  story  on  Pine-street,  over  the  head 
of  brother  M'Anally,  and  believes  it  had  been  of  consider- 
able use  to  the  Doctor  in  the  way  of  protection.  This  was 
a  small  flag,  but  we  got  up  a  better  one,  aided  by  the  boys. 
On  attending  the  Illinois  Conference  last  Fall,  the  brethren 
there  subscribed  fifty  dollars  to  purchaae  a  handsome  one, 
and  here  it  is.  See  the  elegant  embroidery ;  examine  it  j 
done  by  the  hands  of  noble  Union  ladies  in  this  city. 
What  fine  texts  for  speeches  are  on  it:  'GoD  AND  LIB- 
ERTY!' These  are  the  principles  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  from  which  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South  has  apostatized,  or,  rather,  been  bewitched  and  mis- 
led. On  the  other  border  we  read,  'Sustain  the  Union!' 
This  as  a  Church  we  do,  not  with  the  sword,  but  we  so 
teach  the  people.  And  if  they  will  not,  then  we  must  hand 
them  over  to  those  whose  business  it  is  to  handle  the  sword. 


374  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

He  said  he  would  take  this  flag  to  every  Conference  he  at- 
tended, and  hoped  to  gather  up  his  feet,  and  lie  down  with 
joy  under  its  folds  when  this  rebellion  is  crushed  out,  and 
E  Pluribus  Unum  waves  over  a  united  people. 

"  Rev.  H.  Cox,  being  called  out,  said,  he  felt  it  to  be  a 
privilege  to  express  his  opinion  and  defend  his  position  with 
reference  to  that  flag.  He  was  a  comparative  stranger.  It 
gave  him  deep  satisfaction  to  be  present  and  take  the  oath 
of  allegiance  with  his  brethren  on  his  entrance  upon  the 
work  here.  He  was  born  in  England,  and  for  thirty  years 
owed  allegiance  to  the  British  Government.  He  came  to 
Canada  as  a  Wesleyan  missionary,  but  from  associations 
began  to  feel  aspirations  to  mingle  with  his  brethren  in  the 
United  States,  and  in  due  time  took  the  oath  of  allegiance. 
That  oath  he  regarded  as  indicative  of  a  government.  He 
never  dreamed  that  within  the  United  States  there  could  be 
found  a  man  so  vile  as  to  lift  his  hand  against  the  General 
Government.  He  regarded  that  oath  as  binding  him  to  sus- 
tain that  Government  against  all  interference,  domestic  or 
foreign;  even  though  Great  Britain  herself  should  rise 
against  us,  he  was  pledged  to  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 

"When,  however,  men  talk  to  him  of  the  possibility  of 
British  intervention,  he  maintained  that  the  body  of  the 
English  people  would  never  allow  any  such  intervention  in 
favor  of  the  so-called  ^Southern  Confederacy.  Never  did 
the  fire  so  burn  within  him  as  when  he  read  the  demand  of 
the  great  British  Government  for  those  contemptible  fellows 
Mason  and  Slidell.  Had  war  come,  he  must  have  stood  by 
his  adopted  country.  So  do  I  stand  to-day,  and  never  will  I 
cease  to  wage  war  and  battle  till  the  flag  of  our  Union  floats 
in  every  State,  and  over  every  foot  of  land  within  the  bor- 
ders of  our  Republic.  A  stain  will  always  rest  upon  that 
man,  that  Church,  or  that  community  which  has  faltered  in 
this  day  of  trial. 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  375 

"Bishop  Simpson  being  loudly  called  for,  spoke  of  his 
visit  to  the  Missouri  Conference,  seven  years  ago;  of  his 
journey  on  through  Jefferson  City,  Springfield,  etc.,  to  the 
Conference  in  Bonham,  Texas,  in  company  with  the  late, 
lamented  martyr,  A.  Bewley;  of  their  being  threatened  to 
be  mobbed  on  the  way,  and  other  incidents,  and  said  the 
present  Conference  had  a  right  to  stand  around  her  altars, 
and  declare  her  unalterable  attachment  to  our  glorious 
Union,  so  beautifully  represented  in  the  flag  before  us;  a 
flag  cut  with  angels'  hands  from  the  blue  above — a  flag 
upon  which  no  lion  could  spring,  and  to  which  no  eagle 
can  soar — a  flag  gazed  at  with  their  eagle  eyes  from  their 
blest  abode.  And  yet  there  is  a  higher  symbol  than  this 
flag ;  it  is  the  cross — the  ground  of  our  hope — higher  than 
the  stars.  The  cross  first,  our  country  next.  Let  us,  by 
its  benign  influences,  cultivate  love  to  our  enemies,  while  we 
love  our  country  and  our  God. 

"  It  is  impossible  to  do  justice  to  the  speech  of  the  Bishop. 
His  feeble  health  prevented  a  fuller  display  of  his  powers. 

"  In  conclusion,  Dr.  Porter  was  called  up,  and  felt  willing 
to  mingle  with  his  Methodist  brethren  in  their  rejoicings. 
He  would  have  joined  them  in  taking  the  oath,  but  had 
taken  it  a  few  days  previously.  He  had  a  question  to  pro- 
pose :  Have  you,  as  a  Church,  a  right  to  be  patriotic?  Here 
is  a  great  political  problem  in  process  of  being  solved.  He 
believed  it  to  be  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  be  patriotic. 
It  was  as  clearly  taught  in  the  thirteenth  of  Romans  as  in 
the  Twenty-Third  Article  of  Religion  in  the  Methodist  Dis- 
cipline. It  is  also  taught  in  the  fifth  commandment.  The 
first  government  was  patriarchal.  God  delegates  his  author- 
ity to  man.  Our  fathers  are  but  the  delegates  of  their 
fathers.  The  Presbyterian  Church  is  bound  by  a  thousand 
obligations,  as  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  to  be  loyal. 
Had  the  Church  done  her  duty,  the  rebellion  would  not 


876  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

have  happened.  The  Church  has  been  silent  too  long,  and 
her  silence  may  have  been  termed  criminal.  Let  us  wipe  it 
from  her  record.  It  is  not  for  us  to  ask,  what  is  treason  ? 
It  is  well  denned,  and  can  not  be  misunderstood.  '  The 
powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God.'  Let  the  Church 
awake  to  her  duty  and  her  responsibility  in  the  premises. 

"The  occasion  was  one  of  vast  interest  to  Methodism  in 
Missouri,  which  almost  for  the  first  time  since  the  Southern 
secession  has  been  brought  before  the  public  of  St.  Louis. 
As  the  Conference  is  yet  in  session,  I  content  myself  with 
this  account  of  the  proceedings  in  advance.  After  adjourn- 
ment, you  shall  hear  from  me  again." 

9.  As  secession,  on  the  opening  of  1862,  seemed  to  be 
effectually  strangled  in  Missouri,  the  following  lamentations 
were  uttered  by  the  editor  of  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advo- 
cate, and  it  seems  that  pungency  was  added  to  the  mourning, 
because  the  Union  Church  was  about  to  be  organized,  and 
the  cause  of  the  abolitionist,  Elliott,  seemed  to  have  gained 
the  day.  Hear  him,  when  the  National  victories  were  so 
triumphant  in  the  country : 

"  What  a  scourge  is  upon  it !  [the  country.]  What  chas- 
tisements it  is  undergoing !  Who  that  really  loves  it  can 
reflect  upon  its  present  condition,  without  feelings  of  bitter- 
est anguish  !  Distracted,  disrupted,  torn,  and  bleeding  !  Its 
material  interests  all  marred — its  social  relations  almost 
broken  up — its  educational  and  religious  interests  all  lan- 
guishing! And  the  prospects  for  the  future  more  dark,  if 
possible,  than  the  aspects  of  the  present !  Think  of  the 
bitterness  of  feeling — the  blood-thirstiness  and  cruelty  which 
are  being  manifested — the  hatred  and  vindictiveness  of  one 
part  of  the  people  toward  the  other  !  Who,  twelve  months 
ago,  would  have  believed  the  people  of  this  country  could 
ever  have  been  led  to  indulge  the  feelings  they  have 
recently  manifested?  How  total,  in  many  instances,  has  been 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  377 

the  disregard  to  private  rights,  private  interests,  and  prop- 
erty !  Think  of  the  destruction  of  homes — the  waste  of 
towns  and  villages,  and  the  desolations  of  whole  tracts  of 
country  that  have  occurred — the  thousands  of  innocent 
women  and  children  who  have  been  rendered  houseless  and 
homeless — and  the  tens  of  thousands  of  sober,  industrious 
men,  made  desperate  by  the  sufferings  and  privations  they 
have  endured!" 

The  editor  of  The  Methodist,  after  quoting  the  foregoing, 
March  8,  1862,  justly  remarks: 

"All  this  is  sternly  true,  but  what  is  the  guilty  cause? 
It  is  the  Southern  treason  against  a  righteous  and  Consti- 
tutionally administered  Government.  All  this  woe  comes 
from  the  men  with  whom  the  Advocate  has  been  in  tacit  alli- 
ance. Why  does  it  not  turn  its  doleful  admonitions  toward 
them?  The  article  from  which  we  quote  has  no  allusion 
to  the  reprobate  culprits  who  inflict  this  misery  on  the  coun- 
try. Such  is  the  maneuver  of  this  Western  editor.  Why 
does  he  not  treat  with  the  retreating  foes  of  his  country?" 

The  same  number  of  The  Methodist  has  the  following: 
"  Bishop  Early,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South, 
opened  with  prayer  the  fourth  day's  session  of  the  rebel 
Congress." 

10.  The  following,  written  to  Dr.  Thomson,  we  produce, 
as  it  appeared  in  the  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  pref- 
ace and  all : 

«« LETTER  FROM  REV.  DR.  ELLIOTT. 

"  Our  old  friend  Dr.  Elliott,  whom  we  have  long  admired 
and  revered,  gives  us  the  following  letter,  which  is  far  bet- 
ter than  any  thing  we  can  write : 

"THE  UNION  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  IN  ST.  LOUIS. 

"  '  MY  DEAR  THOMSON, — Allow  me  to  renew  the  pleasant 
acquaintance  of  former  years,  as  well  as  to  convey  to  you 

32 


378  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

intelligence  that  will  gladden  you  and  your  readers.  Last 
week  the  scattered  remnants  of  the  Church  of  1784,  after 
several  primary  meetings,  paid  in  the  sum  of  85,000,  which 
secured  to  them  a  deed  with  a  mortgage  of  the  Union  Pres- 
byterian Church  on  Locust  and  Eleventh  streets.  This 
gave  us  the  occupancy  of  the  church.  A  programme  of 
the  exercises  for  Sunday,  16th,  was  struck,  and  scattered 
among  the  seats.  The  services  were  announced  in  the  daily 
papers  of  Saturday  preceding. 

" '  The  love-feast  in  the  vestry,  at  nine  o'clock  on  Sunday 
morning,  was  one  of  great  interest,  and  even  novelty.  Our 
people  who  had  been  in  our  church  here  since  its  recon- 
struction in  1848 — the  remnants — were  there.  Their  old 
church,  Ebenezer,  has  been  shut  up  for  some  seven  months, 
and  they  have  been  homeless,  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd. 
The  small  fragments  of  Bedding  Chapel  were  there.  The 
few  left  of  the  dispersions  of  Simpson  Chapel  were  present. 
The  whole  force  of  political  influence,  of  social  disownment, 
of  commercial  domination,  and  the  contempt  of  nearly  all 
the  Protestant  and  Catholic  Churches  of  the  city,  had  nearly 
buried  our  feeble  flocks.  These  had  various  utterances  to 
express  their  joy,  and -such  as  reminded  me  of  the  exulta- 
tions of  the  Jews  after  returning  from  their  seventy  years' 
captivity. 

" '  Here  were  several  refugees,  who  had  been  driven  from 
their  homes  and  Churches  during  the  last  year,  and  were 
now  returning  to. their  former  abodes,  purposing  to  collect 
what  remained  of  their  dispersed  Church,  begin  the  world 
anew,  like  Job,  and  raise  the  standard  of  the  Methodism  of 
1784  in  all  its  original  purity — antislavery,  pure,  operative, 
and  dauntless.  Their  brief  declarations  spoke  volumes. 

" '  And  then  there  were  here  those  who  had  been  of  our 
Church  before  their  arrival.  Some  had  united  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  as  the  best  they  could 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  379 

do  in  their  judgment ;  others  had  temporarily  worshiped  in 
other  Churches ;  others  had  been  looking  out  for  homes. 
These  expressed,  in  language  too  emotional  to  be  penned, 
their  joy  at  again  being  housed  in  their  cherished  Zion. 
All  these  were  just  prepared,  after  the  close  of  love-feast, 
to  enter  the  church  while  the  choir  and  organ  sang,  '  Long- 
loved  Zion,'  with  its  admirable  chorus — 

"We  're  thronging  home,  we  're  thronging  home, 

Home  to  long-loved  Zion, 

We  're  thronging  home,  we  're  thronging  home, 
Home  to  long-loved  Zion." 

The  preacher,  Rev.  H.  Cox,  delivered  an  admirable  sermon 
on  the  sower,  at  the  close  of  which  the  fine  old  National 
psalm,  '  America,'  was  sung  by  the  choir  and  the  large  con- 
gregation with  the  justly  allied  shout  of  devotion  and  relig- 
ious patriotism.  0  how  cheery  was  it  to  hear  sung — 

"  My  country,  't  is  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  liberty, 
Of  thee  I  sing  I" 

And  the  concluding  line, 

"Great  God,  our  King," 

reminded  me  of  the  song  of  Moses,  and  the  children  of  Is- 
rael, and  of  the  one  hundred  and  thirty-third  Psalm.  But 
a  higher  scene  followed.  The  pastor,  just  as  this  hymn 
closed,  stepped  down  from  the  pulpit  and  gave  an  opportu- 
nity for  persons  to  unite  with  the  Church.  He  invited  the 
members  of  Ebenezer  to  assume  their  membership  in  the 
Union  Church ;  also  those  from  other  Churches  who  had 
certificates  of  membership,  or  if  these  were  not  within 
reach,  their  Christian  character  would  be  the  standard,  and 
those  having  no  certificates  might  join  on  trial.  Here  was 
a  touching  spectacle.  The  remnants  of  the  shattered 
Churches  presented  themselves  with  no  common  emotions, 
while  the  zealous  pastor  gave  them,  in  hearty  style,  the 


380  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

right  hand  of  fellowship.  Many  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  South  presented  their  certificates,  which 
were  read  aloud ;  others,  who  had  temporarily  been  with- 
out Church  privileges,  manifested  no  ordinary  interest. 
Brother  Rich  and  family,  recently  from  Boston,  and  who 
have  been  so  active  in  bringing  this  day  to  pass,  were 
among  the  exultants.  Brother  Leonard,  also,  very  active 
in  this  good  work,  with  his  good  wife  was  of  the  number. 
Brother  Fisk,  formerly  of  Michigan,  another  leader  in  this 
work,  with  his  whole  family,  was  among  those  who  stood 
up  by  the  flag  of  his  beloved  Church  and  country ;  and  his 
little  son  Charles — a  promising  boy — said  he  was  from  '  Old 
Ebenezer,'  and  claimed  membership.  This  Charles,  I  trust, 
will  do  good  service  in  the  Church  and  in  the  world.  The 
readers  of  your  paper  can  scarcely  be  aware  of  the  interest 
we  have  felt  in  this  occasion.  Now  in  St.  Louis,  where  the 
full  influence  of  politics,  of  society,  of  commerce,  and  of 
business,  and  other  Churches  was  against  our  Church,  we 
have  the  prestige  of  unswerving  loyalty  to  speak  for  us  in 
the  gate. 

"  '  We  will  have  our  proportion,  too,  of  social  and  com- 
mercial influence.  Of  those  who  united  with  us  all  are 
loyal.  Mr.  Cox  distinctly  stated  that  no  disloyal  person, 
either  by  certification  or  by  probation,  should  have  a  place 
in  our  Church ;  and  this  is  as  it  ought  to  be  till  the  per- 
son sees  his  error,  confesses  it,  and  manifests  true  loyalty. 
This,  according  to  our  Articles  of  Religion,  is  a  term  of 
membership  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Missouri. 
The  congregation,  morning  and  night,  filled  the  spacious 
church. 

"  *  Here  is  a  fair  beginning,  and  only  a  beginning.  It 
will  require  time,  an  able  ministry,  and  much  labor  to 
replant,  build  up,  and  establish  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  Missouri.  The  door  now,  for  the  first  time,  is 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  381 

open  in  St.  Louis.  Up  till  this  period  our  Church  has  la- 
bored under  difficulties  entirely  insurmountable  by  any 
means  that  could  be  employed  to  counteract  them.  But 
now  God  has  opened  the  door,  and  we  have  the  privilege 
of  entering  this  great  harvest-field  with  good  prospects  of 
success.  Thanks  be  to  God ! 

" '  Your  brother  in  the  patience  and  tribulation  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

"  <  ST.  Louis,  March  17, 1862." 

11.  We  had  purposed  to  leave  the  St.  Louis  Christian 
Advocate  to  its  own  chosen  way,  as  far  as  we  were  con- 
cerned. But  the  loyal  press  felt  called  on  to  take  some 
notice  of  it.  — 

The  Missouri  Democrat  refers  to  it  in  the  following  words : 

"The  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate,  D.  R.  M'Anally, 
editor,  blends  piety  and  secession  politics  in  curious  fash- 
ion. The  number  for  this  week,  though  cautious  and 
guarded,  evinces  its  adherence  to  the  cause  of  rebellion 
about  as  clearly  as  the  paper  did  before  the  Rev.  editor 
took  the  oath  of  allegiance.  Nearly  every  article,  except  a 
brief  leader  on  The  Church,  is  pervaded  by  a  most  evident 
desire  for  rebel  success,  more  offensive  from  the  affectation 
of  candor.  Men  who  profess  religion  and  practice  crime, 
who  pray  and  commit  perjury,  contrive  robbery,  bloodshed, 
and  treason  on  their  knees,  and  Stir  up  wicked  men  to 
deeds  of  wickedness,  in  Scripture  phrases,  must  find  this 
an  acceptable  and  comforting  family  journal." 

The  Evening  News  of  St  Louis,  after  quoting  the  above, 
remarks : 

"It  is  a  mortification  to  the  loyal  Methodists  of  Mis- 
souri that  a  paper,  which  assumes  to  be  the  organ  of  their 
sect,  should  have  degenerated  into  an  organ  of  secession. 
We  have  published  several  complaints  against  the  Christian 
Advocate  from  members  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  the 


382  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

interior  of  the  State,  and  we  know  that  the  course  of  that 
paper  is  the  subject  of  the  severest  condemnation  among 
the  loyal  Methodists.  It  not  only  seeks  to  injure  the  cause 
of  the  Union,  but  it  brings  shame  upon  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion by  sympathizing  with,  and  advocating,  with  whatever 
boldness  it  dares  assume,  a  revolt  which  is  as  wicked  as  it 
was  causeless.  The  Christian  Advocate  has  done  much  evil 
by  nurturing  and  encouraging  the  spirit  of  disloyalty  in 
this  State.  It  has  no  right  thus  to  abuse  the  leniency  of 
the  .Government  to  which  it  is  indebted  for  protection ;  and 
it  will  be  worth  while  for  the  military  authorities  to  con- 
sider the  propriety  of  suppressing  it  if  its  glaring  hostility 
to  the  Union  is  persisted  in." 

12.  We  see  at  this  time  the  double  spectacle  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  on  the  one  hand  flying 
from  their  strongholds,  and  on  the  other  hand  attempting 
to  extend  their  cause  into  the  Northern  States. 

A  Nashville  contributor  to  the  Central  Christian  Advo- 
cate says : 

"All  the  Southern  Methodists  are  skulking  rebels.  The 
whole  Book  Concern  is  corrupt.  M'Ferrin  fled  to  Alabama 
as  a  rebel — left  home  and  Book  Concern.  Dr.  M'Tyeire, 
the  editor,  has  fled  to  New  Orleans.  Huston  is  here  as  an 
evil  spirit  among  the  secesh.  Dr.  Summers,  being  formerly 
of  the  Alabama  Conference,  is  supposed  to  have  returned 
thither.  Dr.  Green  is  skulking  around  here,  preaching  se- 
cession and  rebellion  against  the  existing  military  power. 
He  figured  in  the  secession  of  1844,  and  has  two  sons  and 
a  son-in-law  in  the  rebel  army." 

April  18th  and  19th,  the  Southern  Methodists  held  a  bo- 
gus Conference  at  Atlanta,  Ga.  Bishops  Andrew,  Pierce,  and 
Early  were  there;  also,  Drs.  Green,  M'Ferrin,  and  M'Tyeire, 
Revs.  W.  J.  Parks,  W.  J.  Scott,  M'Donnell,  Huston,  and 
Joseph  Wheeless,  Esq. 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  383 

It  was  thought  impracticable  to  have  a  treneral  Confer- 
ence before  April,  1863,  but  it  was  left  with  the  bishops  to 
convene  one  if  they  thought  it  feasible. 

The  publishing-house  in  Nashville  was  left  in  charge  of 
the  General  Book  Agent  and  Publishing  Committee,  to  be 
managed  as  best  they  could. 

The  support  of  their  bishops  was  distributed  as  follows: 
Bishop  Soule  was  to  be  supported  by  the  Tennessee  and 
Memphis  Conferences;  Bishop  Andrew  by  the  Alabama, 
Louisiana,  and  Florida;  Bishop  Paine  by  the  Mississippi, 
Texas,  East  Texas,  Washita,  and  Arkansas;  Bishop  Pierce 
by  Georgia  and  South  Carolina;  Bishop  Early  by  Virginia, 
North  Carolina,  and  Holston;  Bishop  Kavanaugh  by  Mis- 
souri, St.  Louis,  Kentucky,  Louisville,  and  Western  Virginia. 

The  Nashville  and  the  South  Carolina  Advocates  were  to 
be  united,  and  published  at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  under  the  super- 
vision of  their  former  editors,  Messrs.  M'Tyeire  and  Myers. 

Their  whole  work  was  distributed  into  five  Episcopal  dis- 
tricts. Profoundly  disloyal,  and  passionately  devoted  to  the 
so-called  Confederacy,  they  nevertheless  planned  to  continue 
and  extend  their  rebellious  Church  over  loyal  territory. 
Hence  the  district  of  Bishop  Kavanaugh  embraced  Missouri 
Conference,  September  3d;  Kansas  Conference,  September 
llth;  St.  Louis  Conference,  October  1st;  Indian  Mission 
Conference,  October  22d;  Arkansas  Conference,  November 
5th.  This  occupancy  of  loyal  territory  by  rebel  Conferences 
can  only  be  understood  as  a  deliberate  purpose  and  effort 
to  establish  and  perpetuate  an  ecclesiastical  organization  in 
avowed  opposition  to  the  Government,  and  in  sworn  allegi- 
ance with  its  enemies. 

13.  A  correspondent  of  the  St.  Louis  Kepublican,  while 
in  General  Curtis's  army,  writes  as  follows  from  Salem,  Ar- 
kansas, May  5th: 

"Among  the  noble  Union  men  of  this  county — Fulton — 


884  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

is  Rev.  Joshua  Richardson,  an  old  resident,  originally  from 
Massachusetts,  and  a  man  of  spotless  integrity  and  upright- 
ness of  character.  Several  months  before  the  rebellion  he 
became  convinced  that  the  Methodist  Church  South,  with 
which  he  was  connected,  was  thoroughly  disloyal,  and  he 
arose  in  the  Conference  and  publicly  withdrew  from  the 
body,  alleging  his  reasons,  and  exposing  their  tendencies. 
Since  then  it  has  been  proved  that  the  entire  Methodist 
Church  South,  both  clergy  and  laity,  is  utterly  treasonable, 
and  has  aided  and  abetted  the  rebellion  to  the  extent  of  its 
power.  Soon  after  the  rebellion  had  got  fairly  under  way 
Mr.  Richardson  was  arrested,  at  the  Union  camp-ground  in 
this  county,  a  place  devoted  to  Methodist  camp  meetings, 
and  was  afterward  hurried  to  Little  Rock,  and  kept  a  pris- 
oner there  for  two  months.  During  his  imprisonment,  out 
of  four  hundred  prisoners  arrested  as  Union  men,  only  fif- 
teen had  the  fortitude  and  courage  to  hold  out  to  the  end. 
Of  these  he  was  the  animating  spirit,  and  they  determined 
to  stand  their  trial  for  treason  to  the  new  Confederacy,  even 
though  it  should  result  in  their  execution.  All  the  others 
joined  the  Confederate  army  rather  than  stand  the  test.  A 
grand  jury,  composed  of  persons  from  each  county  in  the 
State,  ultimately  failed  to  find  any  thing  against  them,  since 
they  had  committed  no  overt  act,  having  merely  refused  to 
deny  their  attachment  and  adherence  to  the  Union,  and  they 
were  discharged;  but  emissaries  were  sent  out  to  stimulate 
rebel  parties  on  their  route  home  to  murder  them.  They, 
however,  arrived  home  in  safety,  and  have  survived  the 
tyranny  of  the  rebel  Government  up  to  the  present  time. 
Many  times  Mr.  Richardson  has  been  informed  that  the 
rope  was  already  prepared  with  which  to  hang  him,  but  he 
has  steadily  held  to  the  Union  faith,  and  refused,  at  all 
times  and  under  all  circumstances,  to  deny  his  principles. 
His  brother  and  three  of  his  sons  were  compelled  to  flee 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  385 

for  their  lives,  and  the  latter  have  been  active  soldiers  in 
the  Union  army,  under  Colonel  Phelps,  of  Missouri,  and 
fought  bravely  at  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge.  Their  names 
are  Franklin  and  Alexander.  One  of  them  was  the  guide 
of  our  army  to  Batesville.  These  young  men  are  devoted 
to  the  cause  of  their  country.  Since  the  army  has  been 
here  the  old  gentleman  has  been  in  to  offer  whatever  he 
had  left  to  the  Union  cause,  and  invited  the  soldiers  to  visit 
him  freely  and  partake  of  his  hospitality.  The  force  of  his 
Christian  character  has  protected  him  through  the  reign  of 
terror."1 

14.  The  system  of  passes  was  at  this  time  in  vogue  in  St. 
Louis,  and   having   to  attend,  during  the  Summer,  several 
Conferences  as  well  as*  the  Commencement  Exercises  of  the 
college  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  we  took  occasion  to  procure  a  pass, 
nor  did  we  ever  find  it  irksome  to  be  at  any  pains  necessary 
to  fully  conform  to  and   support  the  rigorous  policies  em- 
ployed for  the  protection  of  the  innocent  and  detection  of 
the  guilty. 

15.  On  the  occasion  of  the  final   suppression  of  the  St. 
Louis  Christian  Advocate  we  wrote  the  following  as  an  edi- 
torial for  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  May  8,  1862: 

"  It  is  a  matter  of  much  grief  to  us  that  there  was  reason 
and  necessity  for  this  severe  measure.  For  some  time  we 
have  contented  ourselves  with  barely  reporting  in  our  col- 
umns the  protests  against  the  course  of  this  paper,  and, 
could  we  now  consistently  relieve  the  editor  and  his  paper 
of  the  decision  against  them,  we  would  cordially  do  so. 
But  we  can  not  give  aid  and  comfort  to  rebellion,  much 
less  can  we  be  neutral,  when  the  very  life  of  our  nation  is 
not  only  threatened,  but  assailed,  attacked,  and,  with  mur- 
derous design,  every  means  used  to  destroy  it,  as  well  as 
to  establish  in  its  place  the  most  wicked  and  oppressive 

iSee  The  Methodist  for  1862,  p.  156. 

33 


386  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

despotism  that  ever  cursed  the  world.  "We  have  read  care- 
fully the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate  since  June,  1860.  In 
regard  to  it  we  now  make  the  following  statements,  which  we 
believe  we  can  prove  by  testimony  that  would  pass  for  true 
before  any  impartial  jury  or  court  in  the  United  States: 

"1.  It  is  the  organ  of  a  Church  which  avowedly  has  sanc- 
tioned and  aided  rebellion,  and  has  thrown  all  its  influence 
against  the  National  Government.  On  this  Church  the  lead- 
ers of  the  rebellion  have  imposed  silence,  requiring  them 
not  to  meddle  with  their  conspiracies,  but  to  acquiesce  in 
them,  and  give  them  all  the  sanction  of  their  professed  re- 
ligious sanctity.  Their  Church  has  been  used  as  the  tool 
of  rebels.  It  has  been  bewitched  and  deceived,  misled  and 
controlled  by  the  rebel  leaders. 

"2.  Those  ministers  and  laymen  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  South  who  are  truly  loyal — and  we  rejoice 
that  some  of  them  are  so — have  pronounced  the  St.  Louis 
Christian  Advocate  a  supporter  of  the  rebellion. 

"  3.  The  disloyal  members  and  preachers  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  South  have  approved  and  patronized  this 
paper. 

"4.  Disloyal  citizens  and  members  of  other  Churches  in 
Missouri,  whether  Catholic,  Protestant,  Presbyterian,  Bap- 
tist, etc.,  have  become  its  patrons  and  subscribers  as  a  means 
of  supporting  their  rebellious  career. 

"5.  This  paper  has  been  recognized  as  the  successor,  de 
facto,  of  the  treasonable  Missouri  State  Journal,  edited  by 
J.  W.  Tucker.  The  Missouri  War  Bulletin  was  published 
in  its  office,  printed  on  its  press,  often  edited  in  its  build- 
ings, and  was  fraternally  treated. 

"  6.  The  political  rebel  press  has  recognized  this  paper  as 
on  their  side  of  the  question. 

"7.  The  religious  rebel  press  has  had  full  fellowship 
with  it 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  387 

"8.  The  loyal  political  press  has  placed  this  paper  in 
opposition  to  their  cause. 

"9.  The  loyal  religious  press  has,  without  exception,  put 
the  paper  on  the  side  of  rebellion. 

"10.  Hence,  by  its  influence,  a  large  portion  of  the  pro- 
fessors of  religion  and  inhabitants  of  Missouri  have  been 
alienated  from  the  Government,  the  sanctity  of  oaths  in- 
vaded, many  lives  lost,  much  property  destroyed,  and  all 
under  the  profession  of  truth  and  right. 

"From  the  columns  of  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advo- 
cate we  draw  the  following  internal  proofs  of  its  disloyal 
character : 

"1.  It  has  made  constant  weekly  selections  from  the  hos- 
tile rebellious  or  apologetical  press. 

"The  foreign  press  has  been  drawn  upon  in  republish- 
ing  selections,  either  disparaging  to  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  or  eulogistic  of  the  cause  of  the  rebels. 

"The  Southern  press  has  been  resorted  to  to  support  the^ 
cause  of  rebellion,  and  to  depreciate  our  Government. 

"  The  patrons  of  the  Northern  press  having  Southern  af- 
finities, and  uttering  disparagement  to  our  Government, 
have  been  quoted  or  cited  frequently  by  this  paper. 

"  The  apologists  of  the  rebel  cause  in  the  North  have 
been  cited  with  approbation  in  its  columns. 

"2.  The  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate  has  colored  the 
course  of  the  South  favorably  to  its  cause,  and  eulogized  its 
principles  and  measures. 

"  3.  It  has  also  depreciated  and  discolored  the  course  of 
our  Government,  so  as  to  prejudice  its  cause. 

"4.  It  has  largely  fabricated  current  news  to  correspond 
to  its  theories.  It  has  generally  discredited  the  issues  of 
the  telegraph  and  other  sources  of  weekly  news,  misrepre- 
senting them.  And  it  has  published  principally,  not  the 
authentic  news,  but  its  own  version,  and  by  this  means  has 


388  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

substituted  its  own  disloyal  theories  for  the  authentic  facts 
and  principles  of  the  reliable  press. 

"5.  AH  this  has  been  done  under  the  profession  and 
sanctity  of  religion,  by  this  means  sapping  the  foundations 
of  public  and  private  morals,  and  leading  many  to  abhor 
the  religion  which  teaches  that  such  moral  and  political 
monstrosities  are  consistent  with  Christianity. 

"  The  editor  of  this  paper,  some  five  or  six  months  ago, 
had  been  warned  of  his  danger,  and  exhorted  by  the  Pro- 
vost Marshal  to  change  his  course.  He  even  subsequently 
took  the  oath  of  allegiance  as  a  citizen;  and  now  the  pre- 
sumption is,  that  he  felt  himself  justified  in  doing  acts  as  a 
Christian  and  editor  which  he  abjured  as  a  citizen. 

"  He  and  others  seem  to  be  so  far  deluded  as  to  believe 
they  are  doing  God  service  by  such  acts.  But  this  is  only 
an  aggravation  of  the  sin,  as  it  argues  a  want  of  just  intel- 
lectual views  and  moral  feelings,  allowing  persons  to  break 
every  commandment  of  the  decalogue,  under  the  plea  of 
serving  God. 

"We  beseech  Almighty  God  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  un- 
derstanding of  these  men,  lead  them  to  acknowledge  and 
forsake  their  horrible  sins ;  and  may  God  have  mercy  on 
their  souls !" 

After  the  suppression  of  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advo- 
cate, the  editor  himself  was  put  in  prison  in  St.  Louis,  in 
consequence  of  his  editorial  course.  About  a  month  after 
his  imprisonment  we  were  traveling  in  the  cars  to  our  office 
from  the  western  part  of  the  city.  Three^  gentlemen  in  the 
cars,  Southern  Methodists,  approached  and  addressed  us  in 
behalf  of  Dr.  M'Anally.  One  of  them  hinted  that  I  might 
petition  for  his  release,  as  I  had  been  the  cause  of  his  ar- 
rest; but  he  immediately  recalled,  or,  at  least,  did  not  per- 
sist in  this  statement.  It  was  stated  by  them  that  Mr. 
M'Anally,  in  consequence  of  his  confinement,  must  soon  die 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  389 

unless  released.  The  question  was  then  put  to  us,  "Would 
you  petition  for  his  release?"  I  told  them  I  would,  on 
certain  principles.  It  was  then  agreed  that  they  would 
meet  me  at  my  office  next  day  at  ten  o'clock,  and  I  would 
then  accompany  them  to  the  Marshal's  office.  With  this 
agreement,  we  parted. 

In  the  mean  time  I  drew  up  the  following  address  to  the 
Marshal,  on  the  score  of  mercy  to  a  culprit: 

OFFICE  CENTRAL  CHRISTIAN  ADVOCATE,     j 
101  Locust-street,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  May  10,  1862.  J 

PROVOST  MARSHAL  GENERAL  FARRAR  : 

DEAR  SIR,— I  respectfully  petition  you  to  release  the 
Rev.  Dr.  M'Anally  from  prison,  under  such  restrictions  as 
your  patriotism,  humanity,  the  public  safety,  and  your  offi- 
cial obligations  will  admit. 

In  making  this  request,  I  do  not  intimate,  nor  do  I  be- 
lieve that  injustice  has  been  done  him  or  his  friends,  in  the 
suppression  of  his  paper,  as  my  editorial  remarks  on  the 
subject  will  show  in  the  Central  of  May  8th,  a  copy  of 
which  I  send  you. 

In  presenting  this  petition,  I  am  not  to  be  understood  as 
making  any  apology  for  his  errors  or  as  indorsing  any  of 
them.  Nor  can  I  recall  or  apologize  for  my  editorial 
course  in  reference  to  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate  or 
its  editor. 

I  am  an  unconditional  Union  man,  and  stand  by  my 
country  whether  it  is  right  or  wrong.  If  it  be  right,  to 
keep  it  right  in  a  constitutional  way.  If  it  be  wrong,  to 
put  it  right  according  to  the  Constitution;  but  not  to 
destroy  it. 

Yery  respectfully,  CHARLES  ELLIOTT, 

Editor  Central  Christian  Advocate. 

None  of  .these  gentlemen,  however,  appeared  at  my  office 
the  following  morning.  For  what  reason  they  declined  to 


390  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

meet  me  according  to  appointment  I  can  not  tell,  nor  did  I 
inquire.  By  some  means,  however,  they  succeeded  in  having 
their  friend  released  from  prison,  and  we  did  not  think 
proper  to  make  any  inquiries  about  the  business. 

16.  Toward  the  close  of  May  of  this  year  our  people, 
who  had  been  driven  to  Kansas  or  elsewhere,  began  return- 
ing. Many  loyal  persons  of  the  Southern  Methodist  Church 
were  waiting  anxiously  for  the  services  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  Many  loyalists  of  other  disloyal  Churches 
as  well  as  citizens  were  looking  earnestly  for  the  minis- 
trations of  our  denomination,  the  only  undividedly  loyal 
Church  in  Missouri. 

In  Kansas  City,  Sedalia,  Booneville,  Lexington,  Inde- 
pendence, Tipton,  and  Springfield,  the  services  of  our  Church 
were  called  for. 

Near  Cape  Girardeau,  where  secession  had  hitherto  reigned 
supreme,  the  tide  seemed  turning. 

At  Holla,  where  much  disturbance  had  prevailed,  the 
people  appeared  to  be  coming  back  to  sobriety. 

On  the  whole,  the  door,  so  long  shut,  opening  with  en- 
couraging prospects,  yet  on  the  threshold  were  many  hin- 
derances. 

June  4th  we  wrote  the  following  to  our  esteemed  brother, 
Dr.  Thomsonr  which  was  published  in  the  Advocate  and 
Journal  of  June  12th:  • 

"  It  is  not  usual  for  one  editor  to  write  for  the  columns 
of  another,  but  the  close  alliance  between  you  and  myself 
for  many  years  may  allow  an  exception.  Besides,  I  think 
an  article  now  from  me  will  give  you  more  reliable  infor- 
mation about  Missouri  than  could  be  easily  obtained  from 
another  source  occupying  the  same  space  in  your  columns. 
Furthermore,  the  present  Missouri  Conference  year  is  the 
beginning  of  a  new  era  in  this  State. 

"  Allow  me,  then,  to  glance  at  the  past  in  a  few  words. 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  301 

After  the  great  Church  secession  in  1844-45,  our  Church 
in  this  State  was  superseded  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  South.  When,  after  1848,  owing  to  the  non-com- 
pliance of  the  Southern  Methodists  with  the  terms  of  a  reg- 
ular organization,  our  Church  resumed  its  former  status  in 
Missouri,  the  new,  or  Southern  Church,  used  every  means 
to  prevent  our  success  in  the  South-West.  Political,  social, 
and  business  influences  were  all  arrayed  against  our  people 
throughout  the  State.  Violence  was  resorted  to,  embracing 
murder,  riding  on  rails,  intimidations,  threats,  and  expa- 
triation. These  means  were  so  effectual  that,  at  our  last 
Conference,  one-half  of  our  six  thousand  English-speaking 
members  in  Missouri  had  been  driven  out  of  the  State. 

"In  this  city  these  influences,  in  connection  with  the  war, 
were  so  powerful  as  to  reduce  the  number  of  our  members  to 
a  mere  handful.  The  members  of  our  Church  emigrating 
to  this  city,  finding  their  Church  in  this  condition,  considered 
it  too  unpromising  for  permanency  or  efficiency,  joined  other 
Protestant  Churches,  or  remained  isolated  from  all  Churches. 
These  Protestant  Churches  were  mostly  of  the  secession 
stripe,  ours  being  the  only  entirely  loyal  Church  in  the 
State. 

"  But  when  the  lines  between  loyalty  and  rebellion  were 
fully  drawn,  all  loyal  men  saw  the  predicament  of  belonging 
to  a  disloyal  Church,  and  having  their  disloyal  preachers. 
Hence  they  ceased  to  attend  the  ministrations  of  the  rebel 
ministers.  On  looking  around  they  saw  no  Church  in  Mis- 
souri fully  loyal  but  the  despised,  rejected,  and  persecuted 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  with  its  loyal  antecedents,  ac-* 
companiments,  and  prospective  character.  Hence  in  our 
Union  Church  we  have  now  nearly  two  hundred  members,  a 
Sunday  school  of  over  three  hundred  scholars,  and  large 
congregations.  And  could  we  pay  off  the  debt  of  our  Church 
at  once,  our  people  in  this  city  would  then  be  enabled  to 


392  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

proceed  in  the  work  of  church  building  to  great  advantage, 
and  at  no  distant  time  our  Church  here  would  bear  such  a 
relative  proportion  to  population,  as  it  does  in  Cincinnati, 
Pittsburg,  Chicago,  or  other  "Western  cities.  My  best  infor- 
mation from  the  State  goes  to  say  that  in  most  of  the  South- 
ern Methodist  Churches  there  are  more  or  less  members  who 
have  ceased  to  attend  the  ministrations  of  their  Church, 
and  are  anxiously  waiting  an  opportunity  to  unite  with  our 
Church.  To  a  limited  extent,  the  same  is  true  of  members 
of  other  Churches,  and  loyal  citizens  are  looking  to  our 
Church  for  spiritual  instruction. 

"  I  inclose  a  brief  editorial  of  mine  on  the  subject  from 
the  Central  Christian  Advocate: 

"'Besides,  the  work  of  emancipation  is  sure  to  proceed 
to  completion  in  the  State,  and  then  hundreds  of  thousands 
will  emigrate  from  the  free  States  to  Missouri,  whom  we 
should  meet  with  open  arms,  and  enroll  many  thousands  of 
them  on  our  Church  books. 

"'Our  Central  is  a  necessity  for  the  South-West.  But 
for  the  war,  I  am  persuaded  it  would  be  more  than  self- 
supporting,  and  would  never  need  to  draw  the  appropriation 
made  for  its  support.  As  it  is,  the  appropriation  of  $4,000 
will  be  exhausted  with  this  volume.  Our  enterprising 
Agents,  who  are  strictly  forbidden  to  exceed  that  sum,  are 
now  making  vigorous  efforts  to  sustain  the  paper  till  May, 
1864.  To  aid  them  I  put  myself  on  half  rations  from 
January  1,  1862,  to  June  1,  1864 ;  unless  the  grave  should 
receive  my  remains,  in  which  the  earthly  man  will  need  no 
more  supplies  than  the  angels  in  heaven.  And  as  a  dernier 
resort,  if  all  other  means  fail,  I  purpose,  in  behalf  of  the, 
General  Conference,  to  become  publisher  and  editor,  if  life 
and  health  are  spared,  should  the  issue  be  only  once  a 
month,  quarter,  or  year,  and  no  larger  than  a  handbreadth. 
This  I  am,  with  God's  help,  determined  on.  There  is  just 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  393 

as  much  need  and  as  much  support,  also,  for  our  paper  here 
as  there  is  in  Boston,  New  York,  Cincinnati,  or  Chicago. 
And  this  is  not  left  to  the  option  of  General  Conference  or 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  except  temporarily,  as  the 
genuine  and  loyal  Methodists  of  the  South-West,  if  need 
be,  will  see  that  this  is  done.  Of  this  I  have  no  doubt,  and 
therefore  write  with  perfect  confidence.' 

"I  have  never  enjoyed  better  health  and  spirits  than  I 
have  in  going  through  the  Missouri  wars.  During  some 
seven  months  after  January  1,  1861,  we  looked  that  any 
week  might  array  about  one-half  of  St.  Louis  in  deadly 
and  close  battle  against  the  other  half.  In  about  half  an 
hour's  reflection  I  meditated  on  the  differences  between 
being  shot  through  the  head,  hung  like  a  dog  as  was  Bew- 
ley,  or  cut  to  pieces  with  dirks  and  swords.  This  over,  I 
became  indifferent  as  to  how  this  might  be,  slept  soundly 
and  unarmed  in  my  own  office,  never  losing  an  hour's 
sleep,  and  lived  without  fear,  but  in  full  hope  of  the  blessed 
future.  And  now,  brother  Thomson,  my  sheet  is  full,  and 
I  send  up  this  prayer,  may  God  bless  you  and  your  family!" 

17.  In  June  of  this  year  Rev.  H.  Cox  was  deputed  to  visit 
the  East  to  obtain  aid  in  paying  for  Union.  Church,  St.  Louis. 
Bishop  Morris,  at  Springfield,  Ohio,  June  16th,  gave  him 
the  following  introductory  letter.  We  copy  it  to  show  the 
decided  and  just  position  of  the  Bishop,  as  well  as  to  give 
a  fair  survey  of  the  true  Methodistic  interests  of  Missouri : 

"  Yours  of  June  10th  is  received ;  I  reply  promptly.  I 
am  in  favor  of  the  Union  as  it  came  from  Washington,  and 
of  Methodism  as  it  came  from  Asbury.  Our  free  institu- 
tions are  a  power  for  good,  and  unadulterated  Methodism  is 
also  a  power  for  good.  The  decided  manner  in  which  our 
ministers  and  members  generally  have  come  to  the  aid  of 
'the  Government  in  its  efforts  to  put  down  rebellion,  will 
increase  our  influence  as  a  denomination,  especially  in  the 


394  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM; 

border  slave  States.  Hence  the  importance  of  the  great 
work  in  which  you  are  directly  engaged,  that  of  restoring 
and  reorganizing  Methodism  in  Missouri  on  its  original 
basis.  Missouri  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  fertile  of  our 
Western  States,  and  would  have  been  greatly  in  the  as- 
cendant only  for  its  connection  with  the  '  peculiar  institu- 
tion.' It  is  destined  soon  to  be  numbered  among  the  free 
States.  This  is  as  certain  as  that  effect  follows  cause ;  and 
when  relieved  from  the  shackles  of  slavery  its  population 
will  double  in  seven  years,  and  in  wealth  will  more  than 
double  in  the  same  period.  So  I  think.  St.  Louis  is  the 
head  and  heart  of  the  State  of  Missouri ;'  and  the  Union 
Church,  of  which  you  are  pastor,  is  in  the  center  of  that 
city.  This  is  beginning  at  the  right  time  and  in  the  right 
place  to  operate  on  an  extensive  scale.  Hence  the  import- 
ance of  success  in  that  enterprise.  If  we  fail  there  the 
pitcher  will  be  broken  at  the  fountain,  and  the  wheel  will 
be  broken  at  the  cistern.  But  if  this  central  Union  Church 
can  be  released  from  debt  and  sustained,  it  will  send  forth 
a  current  of  life  through  a  thousand  arteries  into  every  part 
of  Missouri;  to  be  returned  through  a  thousand  veins,  and 
keep  up  a  healthy  action  in  the  body-ecclesiastic.  Let  every 
Christian,  every  patriot,  and  every  philanthropist  unlock  his 
safe,  bring  out  his  treasure,  and  rally  to  the  rescue.  May 
your  mission  to  the  East  be -a  success;  may  you  obtain 
favor  in  the  sight  of  God  and  the  people,  and  return  with 
a  telling  report!" 

18.  Lieutenant  Kennett,  of  the  United  States  Army,  Su- 
perintendent of  the  Ordnance  Department  at  Nashville,  in 
the  discharge  of  his  duty,  had  occasion  to  visit  the  Southern 
Methodist  Publishing-House.  On  examining  the  basement, 
where  machinery  had  been  placed  for  manufacturing  certain 
parts  of  Confederate  ordnance,  Rev.  Mr.  M'Tyeire,  the  ed- 
itor, commenced  explaining  that  certain  bolts  and  screws 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  395 

were  used  in  stereotyping,  with  other  implements  in  the 
printing  business,  going  through  quite  a  list  of  articles. 
After  hearing  him  through,  the  Lieutenant  remarked,  that 
every  sentence  he  uttered  was  a  falsehood.  The  Lieutenant 
remarked  that  he  had  been  educated  for  the  ordnance  de- 
partment, and  knew  where  every  one  of  these  bolts,  nuts, 
and  screws  belonged  on  a  gun  carriage. 

The  Nashville  clergy  about  this  time  were  quite  non- 
plused. Rev.  C.  D.  Howel  and  Rev.  Ford,  of  the  Baptist 
Church ;  Rev.  C.  D.  Elliott  and  E.  W.  Sehon,  of  the  South- 
ern Methodist  Church,  were  brought  before  the  Governor, 
who  required  them  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
United  States  Government  or  suffer  the  consequences.  They 
begged  for  time  to  consider ;  one  day  was  asked.  This 
was  granted.  Next  they  asked  a  few  days  more,  which 
were  also  given.  Such  hesitation,  under  the  circumstances, 
showed  these  men  to  be  lost  to  the  moral  sentiments  of 
genuine  patriotism.  Surely  a  strong  delusion  had  taken 
possession  of  these  clergymen. 

The  editor  of  the  California  Christian  Advocate  learns 
that  Dr.  Carnes,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,, 
and  editor  of  the  Texas  Christian  Advocate,  was  in  com- 
mand of  a  rebel  regiment,  made  up  mostly  of  Southern 
Methodists,  preachers  and  members. 

19.  The  contrast,  between  July  4, 1862,  and  that  of  1861, 
was  very  striking  indeed  to  those  who  resided  in  St.  Louis. 
Early  in  1861  traitorous  officials  were  scheming  night  and 
day  to  subvert  the  State  Government  and  to  overthrow  the 
municipal  authorities  in  St.  Louis,  and  thousands  of  citizens 
were  boastfully  promoting  these  menacing  conspiracies.  A 
succession  of  plots  led  Price  to  an  army,  and  put  that 
treacherous  host  in  battle  array  against  the  National  Gov- 
ernment and  the  State  of  Missouri.  St.  Louis  was  viciously 
threatened,  and  Union  men  appointed  to  the  alternatives  of 


896  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

exile  from  the  State,  or  loss  of  property,  imprisonment,  and 
death.  Union  men  were  gathering  about  them  every  avail- 
able weapon  of  defense  for  their  lives,  Government,  homes, 
and  property.  On  the  FOURTH,  few  Federal  flags  were  to 
be  seen  in  all  the  city.  It  was  to  us  a  dreary  day;  yet, 
trusting  in  God  while  the  earthquake  threatened  from  be- 
neath, we  dared  to  put  our  colors  on  the  tainted  air. 

How  changed  from  this  was  July  4,  1862 !  The  former 
secession  Chamber  of  Commerce  was  nearly  extinct,  and 
the  new  Union  one  was  flourishing.  The  Mercantile  Li- 
brary Association  was  revolutionized,  and  the  old  Stars  and 
Stripes  floated  over  its  halls.  The  Union  element  was  ris- 
ing in  the  Churches.  The  Fourth  was  celebrated  and 
observed  as  in  former  years,  without  any  outward  expres- 
sion for  rebellion. 

We  visited  Benton  Barracks,  where  eight  hundred  sol- 
diers were  feasted  by  loyal  people.  Speeches  were  deliv- 
ered, to  which  we  could  utter  a  hearty  AMEN.  Toward  the 
conclusion  we  were  called  to  offer  prayer.  We  prayed  for 
the  sick  soldiers,  and  also  for  our  deluded  enemies,  that 
they  might  see  their  sins  and  forsake  them,  by  laying  down 
their  arms,  and  returning  to  their  allegiance.  We  thanked 
God  for  our  victories,  and  prayed  that  he  would  soon  give 
us  peace  by  subduing  our  enemies ;  and  should  European 
intermeddlers  send  their  ships  and  their  men  to  destroy  our 
liberties,  under  the  hypocritical  cant  of  intervention,  that 
our  God,  by  his  waves,  his  winds,  his  storms,  and  newly 
created  maelstroms,  would  swallow  them  up  as  he  did  Pha- 
raoh and  his  host,  to  which  all  the  people,  as  was  right, 
said  AMEN  AND  AMEN  !  But  we  did  not  forget  to  tell  the 
boys  that,  were  it  of  any  use,  we  would  march  on  with 
them,  and  when  we  fell  they  might  bury  us,  if  they  HAD 
TIME  to  do  so.  General  Fisk  made  a  short  speech,  just 
such  as  only  he  could. 


EVENTS  OF  1862.  397 

20.  The  desolation  of  the  Southern  Methodist  Church  in 
New  Orleans  is  thus  described  by  an  army  chaplain,  under 
date  of  June  5th : 

"Yesterday  I  visited  the  office  of  the  New  Orleans 
Christian  Advocate,  and  Southern  Methodist  Book  Deposi- 
tory, situated  on  Camp-street,  a  few  squares  south  of  Canal- 
street,  and  found  the  whole  establishment  closed,  and  as 
desolate  in  appearance  as  though  a  pestilence  had  passed 
over  it.  A  business  man  in  the  next  door — and  a  member 
of  their  Church — told  me  the  Advocate  suspended  for  want 
of  paper,  and  the  Depository  for  want  of  purchasers ;  and 
that  all  the  business  men  of  the  establishment,  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest,  were  in  Beauregard's  army  at  Shiloh, 
in  some  official  capacity,  the  last  he  knew  of  them.  So 
that  in  New  Orleans,  no  less  than  in  Nashville,  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  South  has  left  its  moral,  intellect- 
ual, and  religious  operations  to  languish  and  die.  Their 
churches  are,  most  of  them,  without  pastors  or  preachers, 
except  what  the  local  ministry  supply,  and  prayer  and  class 
meetings  are  generally  suspended." 

21.  At  a  meeting  of  the  loyal  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  South,  of  Montgomery  county.  Mo.,  held 
at  Danville,  July  16,  1862,  a  preamble  and  resolutions  were 
unanimously  adopted.     The  preamble  went  to  lament  that 
the    Conferences,    bishops,    preachers,    and    editors    of   the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  had  been  misled  so  as 
to  be  ranked  among  rebels.     The  resolutions,  five  in  num- 
ber, expressed  their  loyalty  to  the  country  in  plain  but  de- 
cided terms.2 

Methodism  in  Missouri  at  this  time  was  undergoing  a 
process  of  transformation.  The  enterprise  of  Union  Church 
opened  an  era  of  success  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  State,  through  ttye  energy  of  B-ev.  H.  Cox.  There 

»  Central  Christian  Advocate,  July  31,  1862. 


398  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

was  a  call  now  for  loyal  preachers,  notwithstanding  the 
many  hinderances  yet  in  the  way.  The  Church  South 
was  in  a  disorganized  state,  and  there  is  little  reason  to  be- 
lieve it  will  soon,  if  ever,  recover  from  its  demoralization 
and  anarchy.  A  portion  of  its  members,  several  of  its  U>cal 
preachers,  and  a  very  fe\^  of  its  traveling  preachers  have 
kept  themselves  unspotted  from  the  great  sins  of  slavery 
and  rebellion.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  however, 
after  its  many  and%  long  sufferings,  from  1844  to  1862,  a 
space  of  eighteen  years,  having  passed  through  fire  and 
water,  is  now  prepared  to  occupy  the  whole  State,  and 
gather  up  the  broken  fragments  of  its  own  people,  and  also 
the  misled  and  houseless  members  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  South,  without  any  afflicting  criminations  for 
the  past. 


THE  HEROIC  MAJOR.  399 


CHAPTER   XX. 

THE   HEROIC   MAJOR. 

THE  following  narrative,  from  the  pen  of  Rev.  Thomas  J. 
Babcoke,  forme"rly  of  the  Missouri  Conference,  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  will  be  read  with  interest  by  every  Chris- 
tian and  patriot.  It  is  difficult  to  decide  which  excels,  his 
Christian  character,  his  pure  patriotism,  or  his  masterly  gen- 
eralship. He  is  worthy  to  command  a  regiment,  and  yet  he 
was  deprived  of  his  Major's  commission  by  Governor  Gam- 
ble just  because  he  was  a  radical,  or  uncompromising  Union 
man,  and  a  member  and  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church ;  for,  according  to  the  ideas  of  Governor  Gamble 
and  his  conservative,  or  secession,  allies,  any  one  of  these 
characteristics  was  sufficient  ground  for  degrading  him  from 
office.  It  was  a  dark  day  for  Missouri  when  President  Lin- 
coln, honest  man  that  he  was,  was  misled  by  the  so-called 
conservatives  of  Missouri.  Although  Mr.  Babcoke  lost  his 
commission  because  he  voted  for  Mr.  Lincoln,  was  a  "North- 
ern Methodist,"  etc.,  he  was,  nevertheless,  first  to  take  arms 
again  to  repel  the  invasion  of  the  traitor  Price.  But  let 
Mr.  Babcoke  speak  for  himself: 

"BROTHER  ELLIOTT, — I  take  this  opportunity  to  pen  you 
a  few  items  of  my  history  in  Missouri.  In  December,  1859, 
I  arrived  in  Shelby  county,  and  tarried  a  short  time  in  Shcl- 
byville,  the  county  seat.  I  there  became  acquainted  with 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South.  They  politely  of- 
fered me  that  station  for  the  rest  of  the  year.  I  declined, 
and  started,  with  my  effects,  for  the  Osage  country,  where 


400  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

I  landed  in  January,  1860.  I  purchased  a  small  farm  in 
Miller  county  for  our  home.  The  people  seemed  kind  and 
accommodating  till  I  inquired  for  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church;  then  the  inquiry  arose,  'Does  he  belong  to  the 
South  or  North  Church?'  I  informed  them  I  belonged  to 
neither,  but  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  Learning  brother  M'Knight  had  an  appointment 
three  miles  distant,  I  attended  and  gave  in  my  letter.  The 
news  flew  like  wild-fire.  Then  commenced  the  cry,  'He  is 
an  old  abolitionist,  and  has  come  here  to  ste"al  our  negroes.' 
I  strove  to  counteract  the  report,  but  all  in  vain;  the 
Southern  preachers  strove  to  give  it  publicity  from  the  desk. 
They  declared  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  an  abo- 
lition Church  employed  by  the  North  to  steal  and  run  off 
negroes.  Then  they  began  their  persecution,  threatening  to 
tar  and  feather  and  drive  me  from  the  country,  and  even 
threatening  my  life.  They  frequently  met  me  at  my  ap- 
pointments, and  ordered  me  to  leave  and  not  return.  I  still 
attended  to  my  duties  and  filled  my  appointments,  notwith- 
standing their  threats.  At  length  I  resolved  to  meet  their 
charges  publicly.  I  appointed  a  day  for  that  purpose.  I 
tried  to  show  our  position.  For  a  few  days  things  were 
quiet.  This  was  against  the  'Church  South.'  They  lost 
ground  unless  they  kept  the  people  inflamed  with  a  spirit 
of  persecution.  For  the  purpose  of  kindling  the  public 
mind  against  us,  Rev.  John  D.  Read,  a  Southern  Methodist 
of  Miller  county,  announced  a  lecture  at  one  of  my  preach- 
ing-places, and  requested  me  to  meet  him.  I  went.  He 
brought  a  Rev.  Mr.  Marcus  with  him.  They  refused  to  let 
me  reply,  and  their  general  treatment  of  me  was  such  as 
one  might  have  expected  at  a  country  groggery.  Read  tried, 
by  insults  and  low-bred  slang,  to  wound  me  and  excite  the 
people  against  me.  They  lectured  six  hours  to  prove  we 
were  all  abolitionists.  They  quoted  largely  from  the  North- 


THE  HEROIC  MAJOR.  401 

ern  Independent,  and  told  the  people  that  paper  was  pub- 
lished by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  This  they 
stated  some  twenty  times.  They  also  read  several  resolu- 
tions passed  by  the  abolitionists,  and  declared  they  were 
passed  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Their  sole 
purpose  was  to  fire  the  people  against  us,  and  force  us  to 
leave  the  country.  While  making  his  false  charges  against 
us,  Mr.  Read,  pausing,  asked,  'What  ought  to  be  done  with 
such  people?'  An  old  Mr.  Wilks  spoke  out,  'They  ought 
to  be  served  as  'Ray  was,'  alluding  to  a  man  hung  by  a  mob. 
Such  was  my  treatment  at  the  commencement  of  my  labors 
in  Missouri.  The  preachers  above  alluded  to  were  both 
from  the  North.  They  were  acquainted  with  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  therefore,  and  knew  their  statements  were 
false.  I  was  compelled  to  hear  their  falsehoods,  without  the 
privilege  of  correcting  a  single  error.  Gross  insults  were 
heaped  upon  me  during  the  lecture.  At  the  close  I  rose 
and  told  the  people  that  fully  two-thirds  of  the  charges 
made  against  us  were  base  falsehoods,  and,  denied  the 
.privilege  of  replying  there,  I  would  meet  them  in  four 
weeks,  and  try  to  correct  public  sentiment  in  reference  to 
the  Church.  I  met  the  people  on  the  day  appointed,  and 
endeavored  to  show  them  our  position  on  the  slavery  ques- 
tion. Such  experiences  and  events  filled  up  the  first  two 
years  of  my  life  in  Missouri.  Every  falsehood  and  insult 
that  could  be  invented  was  heaped  upon  the  Church.  Sev- 
eral times  they  met  to  mob  me,  but  the  providence  of  God 
preserved  me.  In  Johnson  county  a  mob,  headed  by  a  Bap- 
tist doctor,  was  coming  in  sight  of  me,  when  some  of  my 
friends  informed  and  advised  me  to  leave.  This  was  so  con- 
trary to  my  disposition  that  I  resolved  to  meet  them  and 
defend  myself,  at  all  risks,  but  a  lawyer  of  the  place  pre- 
vailed on  the  mob  to  disperse.  It  would  require  a  volume 
to  detail  all  the  insults  of  which  I  was  the  subject  on 

34 


402  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

account  of  my  connection  with  the  Church  they  loathed. 
When  the  rebellion  broke  out  they  redoubled  their  perse- 
cution. I  was  abused  in  every  assembly.  It  was  publicly 
declared  I  should  die.  A  Southern  Methodist  preacher  said 
to  one  of  my  neighbors,  'He  can  never  escape;  they  are 
determined  to  kill  him.'  It  was  a  trying  moment.  I  looked 
in  all  directions  for  a  friend,  and,  for  some  time,  thought 
myself  alone.  I  visited  a  family  by  the  name  of  Duncan, 
who  had  been  friends  to  me  indeed.  I  shall  never  forget 
the  day  they  said  to  me,  'We  are  still  your  friends.'  Some 
of  them  wept,  and  said,  'I  can  see  no  chance  for  you;  they 
are  determined  to  kill  you.'  For  a  moment  all  looked  dark, 
but,  quick  as  thought,  this  came  to  my  mind,  '  I  will  shield 
thy  head  in  the  hour  of  battle.' 

"  I  returned  home,  not  knowing  what  course  to  pursue. 
My  family  became  alarmed,  and  urged  me  to  leave  the 
State.  This  was  impossible.  I  was  without  money.  They 
had  a  consultation,  and  resolved  to  take  my  life.  A  tree 
was  selected  for  my  gallows.  About  this  time  I  was  em- 
ployed ta  drill  a  company,  which  was  said  to  be  for  mutual 
protection.  I  hoped  by  so  doing  to  receive  protection ;  but 
in  this  I  was  disappointed.  A  friend  informed  me  they 
had  resolved  to  reject  me ;  for  said  they,  '  He  will  be 
killed,  and  we  want  true  Southern  men  to  command  us.' 
This  took  me  by  surprise.  But  as  another  expedient  we 
resolved  to  make  an  effort  to  raise  a  Union  company.  At 
this  juncture,  Captain  Johnson,  a  rebel  chief,  sent  twenty 
men  to  take  me.  But  when  they  came  I  was  not  at  home. 
Drill-day  came  for  the  first  company.  I  informed  them  I 
had  learned  of  all  their  plans,  and  would  save  them  any 
further  trouble.  I  spoke  in  favor  of  the  Union,  and  warned 
them  to  be  careful  what  they  did.  When  I  closed,  a  Mr. 
Bliss  called  for  Union  volunteers.  I  stood  still.  To  my 
astonishment  forty  enrolled  for  the  Government.  I  was 


THE  HEROIC  MAJOR.  403 

called  upon  to  command  them.  We  prepared  as  fast  as 
possible  for  defense.  Our  second  meeting  was  in  Tuscumbia, 
Miller  county.  That  day  we  captured  two  pieces  of  artil- 
lery, concealed  in  a  rebel's  hay-mow.  The  rebels  then 
banded  together  to  attack  us.  I  met  them  in  person,  gave 
them  my  reasons  for  enlisting,  and  told  them  of  their  abus- 
ive conduct.  Some  of  them  swore  I  should  not  leave  alive. 
I  warned  them  of  the  consequences.  Returning  home  the 
next  day,  I  was  informed  that  they  had  resolved  anew  to 
take  my  life,  and  were  then  on  the  way  to  execute  their 
thread.  I  then  determined  to  engage  in  the  war  in  earnest. 
I  told  my  family  not  to  look  for  me  till  they  saw  me  com- 
ing. I  started  to  Jefferson  City  to  make  some  arrange- 
ments for  our  defense.  I  stopped  at  a  blacksmith's  shop, 
near  Hickory  Hill,  to  get  a  horseshoe  set.  The  shop- 
bench  was  covered  with  gun-locks  and  other  fragments  of 
fire-arms.  The  smith  inquired,  '  Where  are  you  from  ?' 
My  answer  was  evasive  :  '  I  am  from  the  South-West.'  '  Do 
you  know  of  any  companies  being  raised  out  there  for  the 
Union  ?'  '  I  believe  I  do.'  !  What  are  the  names  of  the 
commanders?'  I  paused  as  if  to  study.  He  then  asked, 
'Is  there  one  called  Babcoke?^  I  paused  a  moment,  and 
answered,  '  0  yes,  he  is  called  a  hard  case.'  '  Yes,'  he 
-said,  '  but  we  will  stop  his  career  soon.'  I  encouraged  him 
to  do  so.  He  then  said,  '  We  are  making  up  a  company  to 
take  him  as  he  passes  down  to  Jefferson.'  I  told  him  to  be 
very  careful  whom  he  told  this  to,  for  we  did  not  know  whom 
we  might  be  talking  to.  '  Ah  !'  said  he,  '  I  know  whom  to 
trust.'  He  gave  me  the  names  of  the  leaders  of  the  gang, 
which  were  Peter  Taylor,  of  Morgan  county;  James  M'Kin- 
sey,  of  Cole,  and  Dr.  Waters,  of  Miller.  I  learned  their 
whole  plan,  and  then  left  him  ignorant  of  whom  he  was  talk- 
ing to.  After  making  the  necessary  arrangement,  I  started 
with  my  command  for  Jefferson  City.  We  got  through 


404  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

without  harm,  though  we  were  waylaid  by  Taylor  and  his 
gang.  Failing  in  this  attempt,  two  hundred  of  them  leagued 
together  to  take  us  on  our  return.  The  commander  at 
Jefferson  City,  learning  this,  ordered  Colonel  Mulligan  to 
accompany  us  with  a  part  of  the  Irish  brigade.  While 
passing  Hickory  Hill  we  were  fired  upon  by  a  small  gang 
of  skulking  rebels,  but  without  effect.  We  then  marched 
to  Mt.  Pleasant,  Miller  co.,  and  found  it  evacuated.  The 
next  day  we  found  all  kinds  of  goods  in  almost  all  kinds 
of  places.  We  sent  teams  and  gathered  them  in.  There 
were  dry  goods,  groceries,  hardware,  boots  and  shoes,  caps 
and  hats,  provisions  and  medicines,  all  boxed  up  and  hid 
out  in  hollows  and  thickets.  Only  two  Union  men  were 
living  in  the  place.  It  was  a  rallying  point  for  rebels.  A 
Southern  Methodist  Church  was  there,  and  their  meetings 
were  frequently  improved  by  prayers  and  lectures  in  favor 
of  the  South.  Wm.  P.  Dickson,  of  this  place,  was  a  lead- 
ing rebel  and  a  Southern  Methodist.  It  was  this  Dickson 
who  said,  '  These  Northern  Methodists  are  all  negro  thieves, 
and  ought  to  be  driven  from  the  State.'  He  is  the  man, 
also,  who  solemnly  affirmed  before  God,  there  were  no  con- 
traband goods  on  his  premises,  and  in  less  than  two  hours 
we  dug  up  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  powder  buried 
in  his  stable.  When  found,  he  acknowledged  he  put  it 
there.  He  it  was,  too,  who  took  the  oath  of  allegiance, 
and  solemnly  swore  to  reveal  every  thing  coming  to  his 
knowledge  of  a  treasonable  character.  And  still  he  kept 
this  powder  concealed  with  which  to  kill  Union  men.  This 
raid  into  Miller  county  was  all  placed  to  my  charge.  If  I 
was  before  the  object  of  their  hate,  I  was  now  much  more 
so.  They  now  sought  my  life  with  redoubled  energy.  My 
family  was  insulted  by  both  males  and  females.  They 
would  pass  my  house,  using  the  most  abusive  language 
possible.  The  cries  of  '  old  abolitionist,'  '  negro  equality,' 


THE  HEROIC  MAJOR.  405 

and  the  like,  fell  upon  the  ears  of  my  wife  daily.  They 
destroyed  my  farming  utensils  and  all  other  articles  of 
value  they  could  get  hold  of.  A  short  time  after  this  a 
choice  pack  of  seven  chivalrous  men  came  to  my  house  in 
my  absence  and  ordered  my  wife  to  leave,  under  penalty 
of  death.  I  give  the  names  for  the  benefit  of  their  poster- 
ity; namely,  Berry  Taylor,  Preston  Taylor,  jr.,  'Brit'  Tay- 
lor, Elijah  Spence,  one  Hilman,  and  one  Hase,  all  members 
of  a  professed  Christian  Church !  After  this  gentlemanly 
act  they  concealed  themselves  in  the  brush,  and  Calvin 
Tindal,  another  Baptist,  cooked  provision,  and  with  his  wife 
carried  it  to  them.  The  abuse  daily  heaped  upon  my  fam- 
ily occasioned  me  to  move  them  to  Jefferson  City  for 
protection.  I  remained  there  during  the  Winter.  The 
dangers  and  uncertainties  of  war-times  had  preven-ted  nie 
from  making  any  thing  during  the  year  for  support.  Liv- 
ing in  the  city  soon  reduced  my  little  stock  to  a  very  small 
pittance.  My  family  again  beset  me  to  leave  the  State. 
But  where  should  we  go,  and  what  should  we  have  when 
we  got  there?  were  questions  of  no  small  import.  In  fact, 
there  was  no  alternative  but  to  stay  and  fight  it  out.  I  re- 
solved at  once  to  move  back  to  my  farm. 

"  Contrary  to  the  advice  of  my  friends  and  entreaties  of 
my  family  I  started,  arriving  in  March,  1862,  with  my 
goods  on  my  own  premises.  Immediately  the  word  came 
that  the  rebels  had  determined  to  kill  me  or  force  me  to 
leave.  I  was  informed  of  their  council  at  Judge  Wilks's, 
and  of  their  decision  to  attack  my  house  at  a  given  time. 
I  immediately  prepared  my  house  for  defense.  I  procured 
fire-arms  enough  to  have  given  them  twelve  shots.  With 
these  I  resolved  to  stand  my  ground.  They  learned  of  my 
preparation,  and  so  did  not  come.  But  the  most  horrid 
threats  and  bitter  oaths  human  depravity  could  invent  were 
daily  fulminated  against  me.  Still  God  was  near  to  deliver. 


406  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Notwithstanding  all  their  menaces  we  planted  a  small  crop 
of  corn,  and,  for  a  time,  tilled  it;  but  before  we  'laid  it  by' 
the  guerrillas  were  prowling  through  the  whole  State. 

"  In  the  Spring  of  1862,  the  Conference  appointed  me  to 
the  Otterville  circuit.  I  made  several  attempts  to  reach  the 
circuit,  but  was  as  often  intercepted  by  bands  of  guerrillas. 
I  seemed  more  than  any  one  else  in  all  the  country  the  ob- 
ject of  their  hate.  They  sought  my  life  with  zeal  worthy 
of  a  better  cause.  Failing  in  all  efforts  to  reach  my  field 
of  labor  I  at  last  abandoned  the  idea  of  trying  to  do  the  work 
of  a  circuit  preacher.  I  devoted  myself,  as  far  as  possible, 
therefore,  to  my  farm,  working  and  watching  by  day,  and 
sleeping  at  night,  with  two  double-barreled  shot-guns,  two 
pistols,  and  an  ax  so  near  my  bed  that  I  could  lay  my 
hands  on  them  any  moment.  Thus  I  lived  till  the  time 
above  mentioned,  when  the  guerrillas  commenced  their  work 
of  plunder  and  death.  Then  I  entered  the  service  again  in 
the  militia.  Scouting  and  fighting  occupied  us  till  cold 
weather  came.  And  though  our  fighting  was  not  as  severe 
as  that  experienced  in  many  places,  we  saw  enough  to  learn 
the  horrors  of  war.  Cold  weather  setting  in,  the  guerrillas 
disbanded  or  went  South,  and  we  were  called  to  Jefferson 
City,  where  we  remained  till  March  1,  1863.  Then  we 
were  furloughed  home  to  report  for  duty  at  a  moment's  call. 
During  all  this  time  we  had  received  nothing  for  our  serv*- 
ices.  I  served  five  months  in-  the  Home-Guards,  and  seven 
in  the  militia,  living  upon  my  own  limited  means.  Many 
of  our  families  were  in  a  most  destitute  condition.  Under- 
going every  privation  ourselves,  the  horrifying  intelligence 
almost  daily  reached  us  of  peaceable  Union  citizens  being 
shot  down  in  their  doors  or  in  their  fields.  Others  were  at- 
tacked and  robbed  of  coats,  hats,  shoes,  jackets,  and  some 
were  stripped  of  their  pants  and  socks.  Houses  were  often 
robbed  of  the  last  vestige  of  wearing  apparel,  and  even  bed 


THE  HEROIC  MAJOR.  407 

clothes  were  taken,  and  bedticks  emptied  to  make  rebel 
shirts.  Women  and  children  were  driven  from  their  houses^ 
and  the  houses  burned  before  their  eyes.  I  have  seen  fam- 
ily after  family  fleeing  for  safety,  their  feet  bound  up  with 
rags  to  keep  them  from  freezing.  I  have  listened  to  ac- 
counts of  suffering,  and  the  weeping  of  mothers  and  chil- 
dren till  my  heart  grew  sick.  In  the  midst  of  all  this  des- 
olation, speech  after  speech  was  made  in  the  North  repro- 
bating the  Government,  and  eulogizing  the  South.  These 
reached  us,  and  aggravated  our  sufferings.  Such  men  will 
have  their  reward.  They  will  be  hated  on  earth,  excluded 
from  heaven,  and  loathed  even  in  hell. 

"  Notwithstanding  the  fiery  trials  of  these  times,  we  had 
some  manifestations  of  the  goodness  of  God  in  the  outpour- 
ing of  his  Spirit.  We  had  some  excellent  meetings.  In 
the  Fall  of  1860  we  held  a  camp  meeting  on  Proctor,  in 
Morgan  county,  near  the  residence  of  Rev.  B.  F.  Wilson. 
It  will  long  be  remembered.  About  one  hundred  conver- 
sions were  witnessed.  Many  promising  young  men  were 
of  the  number,  some  of  whom  are  gone  to  their  reward. 
When  the  war  broke  out  these  young  men  flew  to  their 
country's  aid.  While  I  write,  my  soul  rejoices  at  the  re- 
membrance of  the  happy  prayer  meetings  of  those  young 
converts,  in  their  tents  or  in  some  secret  spot  outside  the 
army  encampment.  But  where  are  they  all  now?  Some 
have  fallen  in  battle,  others  by  slow  but  fatal  disease.  One 
of  the  number,  a  brother  Wilson,  was  accidentally  shot,  and 
we  found  him  only  in  time  to  see  him  die.  The  rest  are 
still  filling  their  places  in  the  Union  army.  May  God  pre- 
serve them  and  our  country !  I  am  still  in  the  service  of 
the  State,  and  probably , will  be  till  the  war  closes. 

"  I   have   not  been   able   to   note   one   circumstance  in  a 
hundred,  but  I  have  given  the  outline  of  the  whole 
"  ROCKY  MOUNT,  MILLER  COUNTY,  Mo.,  April  18,  1863." 


408  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

The  following  appeared  in  the  Missouri  Democrat  of 
October  21,  1864,  toward  the  close  of  Price's  last  raid  into 
Missouri.  The  writer,  from  Jefferson  City,  makes  the  fol- 
lowing statement  as  prefatory  to  the  article:  "The  hero, 
Captain  Babcoke,  was  a  Major  in  the  Home-Guards,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  war ;  and  afterward  a  Major  in  the 
E.  M.  M.,  from  which  position  he  was  removed  by  Gov- 
ernor Gamble,  through  the  influence  of  Colonel  Flesh,  com- 
manding the  regiment,  for  being  a  Radical.  He  is,  besides 
being  a  worthy  and  most  reliable  citizen,  a  man  of  great 
decision  of  character,  courage,  and  self-reliance,  and  he  pos- 
sesses in  a  peculiar  degree  the  quality  recommended  by 
Danton,  audace,  audace,  toujours  audace"  Thus  in  English, 

bold,  bold,  ALWAYS  BOLD. 

"On  the  7th  instant,  April,  1864,  Captain  T.  J.  Bab- 
coke,  being  in  command  of  a  militia  company,  organized 
under  Order  107,  was  returning  from  Holla  to  Jefferson 
City,  with  thirty  men,  mounted,  having  been  sent  to  the 
former  place  with  dispatches  from  General  Brown  to  General 
M'Neil.  About  twelve  miles  from  Jefferson  City  he  came 
upon  a  rebel  picket-guard  of  thirteen  men,  including  a 
Captain  and  Lieutenant,  at  a  farm-house,  part  of  the  party 
being  inside  the  house.  Thinking  a  bold  course  the  better 
one  under  the  circumstances,  he  rode  up  to  the  sentinel  in 
the  road  with  the  greatest  coolness,  and  when  the  sentinel 
halted  him,  he  said,  in  a  commanding  tone,  '  Halt  yourself!' 
and  assumed  such  an  authoritative  air,  that  the  rebels  sup- 
posed him  to  be  one  of  the  officers  of  their  own  army, 
making  the  grand  rounds.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
Price's  rebels  are  sometimes  clothed  by  whole  companies 
in  Federal  uniform.  The  rebels,  thus  thrown  off  their 
guard,  permitted  Captain  Babcoke  and  his  men  to  ride  into 
the  yard.  As  soon  as  the  house  was  surrounded,  Captain 
Babcoke  told  the  whole  party  of  rebels  to  surrender,  in 


THE  HEROIC  MAJOR.  409 

such  tones  as  told  them  they  were  sold.  He  had  men  that 
he  could  rely  upon,  and  he  ordered  them  to  shoot  down 
any  rebel  that  attempted  to  move  or  use  his  gun.  The 
rebels  outside  of  the  house  dropped  their  guns,  and  those 
inside,  seeing  the  house  surrounded,  surrendered  at  discre- 
tion. The  horses  of  the  rebels  were  hitched  at  some  dis- 
tance in  the  woods ;  these  the  Captain  sent  for,  and  mount- 
ing his  prisoners — two  officers  and  eleven  men — started  for 
Jefferson  City. 

"This  capture  was  within  one  mile  of  Price's  main  col- 
umn, and  Captain  Babcoke  soon  found  himself  like  the  man 
who  won  the  elephant  in  a  raffle.  He  had  'got  a  good 
thing;'  the  point  was  to  'keep  it.'  But  the  mind  that  con- 
ceived the  capture  of  the  rebel  outpost  was  fertile  in  expe- 
dients. He  placed  his  prisoners  in  the  front,  and  started  to 
go  around  the  rebel  army,  which  lay  between  him  and  Jef- 
ferson City.  He  crossed  the  Osage  several  times,  and  made 
a  number  of  narrow  escapes  from  running  directly  into  the 
rebel  lines.  He  was  tangled  in  the  bends  of  the  Osage  like 
Mr.  Raymond  in  the  'elbows  of  the  Mincio,'  at  the  battle 
.of  Solferino,  but  he  knew  the  country,  and  succeeded  in 
effectually  dodging  the  whole  rebel  army. 

"On  the  next  day  after  the  capture  of  his  prisoners,  while 
riding  down  a  hill,  he  saw  a  rebel  company  descending  a 
hill  opposite,  and  coming  toward  him.  He  conceived  that 
his  safety  lay  in  boldness,  and,  with  his  thirty  men  and 
thirteen  prisoners,  he  charged  on  the  rebel  company  with  a 
yell,  and  drove  them  back.  Each  prisoner  had  two  or  more 
men  especially  to  look  after  him,  as  well  as  after  the  enemy 
in  front,  and  the  captured  rebs,  instead  of  being  an  incum- 
brance,  were  an  advantage,  as  they  helped  to  swell  the 
numbers  of  Captain  Babcoke's  force,  and  make  it  appear 
more  formidable.  No  sooner  had  he  got  the  rebs  in  front 
of  him  on  the  skedaddle  than  he  made  a  sudden  detour  by 

35 


410  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

a  by-path,  and  got  into  the  brush.  It  was  afterward  ascer- 
tained that  the  skedaddlers  reported  to  Price  that  the  Fed- 
erals were  advancing  in  force  in  their  rear,  and  he  had  his 
army  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle  to  meet  them. 

"The  rebels  were  hunting  for  Captain  Babcoke  for  six 
days,  knowing  he  could  not  have  reached  the  Federal  forces 
at  Jefferson  City.  The  brave  men  of  his  company  had  a 
tedious  time  camping  out  nights,  and,  between  guarding 
their  prisoners  and  keeping  a  watch-out  for  the  enemy,  they 
had  little  time  for  sleep.  Six  days  and  six  nights  were  thus 
passed,  when  Captain  Babcoke  and  his  faithful  band  safely 
arrived  in  Jefferson  City,  and  delivered  to  General  Brown 
their  thirteen  prisoners,  who  are  now  safely  confined  here." 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  411 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

EVENTS   OF    1863. 

1.  JANUARY  1,  1863,  was  made  a  day  of  National  celeb- 
rity by  the  Proclamation  of  liberty  to  all  slaves  in  rebel 
States.     It  was  announced  September  22,    1862,   that  this 
event  would  take  place  in  every  State  remaining  in  rebellion 
on  January  1st.     Every  true  Methodist  had  special  cause  of' 
thanksgiving,  as  the  elementary  principles   of  his   Church 
called  for  the  extirpation   of  slavery,  and   our  bishops  in 
their   address   to   the   General  Conference   officially  recom- 
mended  that  no  more   slaveholders  should   be   allowed  to 
enter  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.     Hence  the  decision 
of  the  General  Conference  of  1784,  requiring  freedom  in  all 
cases,  but  which  the  civil  power  had  suspended  for  eighty 
years,  could  now  be  carried  out  to  the  letter  by  the  General 
Conference  without  any  vote  from  Annual  Conferences.     It 
was  deemed  prudent,  however,  to  have  the  votes  of  all  the 
Conferences  in  recognition  of  this  providential  deliverance 
which  God  himself  effected  by  his  servant,  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, through  a  military  necessity,  in  conformity  with  the 
Constitution  and  the  principles  of  justice  and  Christianity. 

2.  The  providence  of  God  seems  especially  manifest  now 
in  numberless  instances. 

Rev.  John  Moorhead,  writing  from  Chillicothe,  Mo.,  Jan- 
uary 2d,  says:  "The  President's  Proclamation  will  doubtless 
occasion  some  little  agitation.  But  the  people  are  becoming 
reconciled  to  emancipation,  as  they  see  it  is  inevitable.  I 
mean  by  the  people  in  the  above,  the  secessionists,  as  they 


412  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

are  the  stronger  party  in  this  country.  The  Union  men 
have  been  reconciled  to  the  measure  all  the  time.  Let  me 
inform  brother  and  sister  Gardner  that  old  Charley  Cooper, 
the  leader  in  brother  Gardner's  rail-riding  expedition,  was 
shot  and  killed  in  his  own  house,  a  few  weeks  ago,  by 
parties  unknown.  Truly  'the  way  of  transgressors  is  hard.' 
'Vengeance  is  mine,  I  will  repay,  saith  the  Lord.'"  This 
Cooper  was  leader  in  the  mobbing  and  riding  Mr.  Gardner 
on  a  rail,  of  which  we  spoke  in  a  previous  chapter. 

Through  Rev.  Mark  Robertson,  we  learned  this  month 
that  two  Methodist  preachers  were  murdered  in  Arkansas ; 
these  were  James  Murray,  traveling,  and  Charles  Cavender, 
a  local  preacher.  Mr.  Robertson,  the  fellow-laborer  of  Mr. 
Bewley  several  years  in  Arkansas,  was  finally  compelled  to 
leave.  Were  the  murders  and  banishments  of  our  ministers 
and  members  in  the  South- West  enumerated,  they  would 
form  a  lengthy  list.  But  there  they  stand  recorded  in  God's 
Book  of  Remembrance,  and  they  will  shine  forth  with 
splendor  in  the  world's  trial-hour. 

Many  loyal  Methodists  of  the  Church  South  were  deeply 
mortified  by  the  course  of  that  denomination.  This  was 
expressed  with  true  Christian  feeling  and  dignity,  January 
16,  1863,  by  Edwin  Draper,  Esq.,  a  man  of  ability  and 
prominence  in  the  Church  in  Louisiana,  Mo.  He  remarks : 

"I  will  say  in  brief,  I  long  since  discovered,  and  was 
perfectly  satisfied  that  the  Methodist  Church  South  was 
not  only  bowing  its  neck  willingly  to  the  yoke  of  the  slave 
power  of  the  South,  but  that  it  exerted  a  powerful,  if  not 
a  preponderating  influence  in  favor  of  the  rebellion.  Many 
of  our  members  have  been  satisfied  of  the  same  fact,  and 
more  especially  since  the  developed  treachery  of  the  Church 
organ  at  St.  Louis.  The  Union  members,  and  a  few  of  the 
preachers,  as  soon  as  we  became  fully  convinced  of  these 
facts,  commenced  our  opposition  to  the  malign  influence  of 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  413 

the  paper  by  protesting  against  its  course  and  teachings  and 
the  influence  of  the  preachers  directed  against  the  Union 
and  the  Government." 

According  to  the  analogies  of  God's  providence  in  the 
history  of  the  world,  both  sacred  and  profane,  we  now  see 
the  principal  seats  and  perpetrators  of  wrong-doing  espe- 
cially visited  with  the  scourge.  The  war  so  rages  over  old 
Virginia,  and  portions  of  Georgia,  and  South  Carolina,  that 
the  strongholds  of  their  former  and  confirmed  iniquities 
are  likely  to  be  utterly  broken  up.  Several  monstrously 
criminal  measures  render  this  a  justly  deserved  retribution. 
1.  They  voted  in  1797  to  make  the  North- Western  Terri- 
tory free,  that  they  might  have,  the  monopoly  of  slave  grow- 
ing, although  such  a  vote  was,  in  itself,  right.  2.  For  a 
similar  reason,  they  favored  the  suppression  of  the  African 
slave-trade.  3.  They  raised  for  the  South-West  able-bodied 
laborers  for  money,  many  of  them  sons  of  their  own  free 
white  citizens.  4.  They  selected  their  female  breeders  to 
provide  the  markets  of  the  South-West  with  a  new  supply. 
5.  They  raised  white  concubines  in  great  numbers  and  sold 
them  at  high  prices  to  vicious  men  further  South.  6.  By 
their  atrocious  laws  and  pro-slavery  morals,  they  banished 
thousands  of  their  best  citizens  to  Southern  Ohio,  Indiana, 
and  Illinois,  where  they  sought  free  communities,  and  these 
localities  are  now  sending  back  thousands  of  soldiers  to 
visit  their  iniquities  with  stripes,  and  to  maintain  the  Gov- 
ernment established  by  Washington.  7.  They  neglected 
the  education  of  the  white  masses,  while  they  prohibited 
that  of  the  colored  people.  Thus  a  just  and  holy  God  is 
visiting  these  iniquities  in  as  signal  a  manner  as  he  did 
those  of  the  antediluvians,  the  Sodomites,  the  Egyptians, 
and  other  impetfitent  and  wicked  nations. 

But  in  all  the  free  States  there  is  peace  and  plenty,  as  to 
all  the  conveniences  of  life.  Crpps  have  been  good,  business 


414  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

brisk,  and  none  are  wanting  the  supplies  necessary  for 
comfort.  The  principal  cause  of  grief  with  them  is  the 
cutting  down  of  the  heads  or  members  of  many  families  by 
the  slaveholders'  war.  But  as  complicity  with  moral  wrong 
has  been  our  great  sin,  we  must  expiate  it  by  the  blood  of 
our  citizens  and  payment  of  the  war  expenses.  The  retri- 
bution of  the  free  States,  however,  is  one  of  great  mercy, 
though  justice  must  strike  the  tempered  blow. 

3.  During  February  and  March  many  pressing   calls   in 
various  parts  of  Missouri  were  made  for  our  preachers,  by 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South. 

Mr.  M.  Y.  Graham,  a  loyal  Methodist  of  Westport,  Mo., 
wrote  to  us: 

"If  ever  there  was  a  time  when  a  holy  religion  was 
needed,  now  is  that  time,  for  verily  wickedness  stalks  abroad 
at  noonday.  There  are  other  considerations  I  will  mention. 
This  portion  of  country  will  be  occupied  by  some  religious 
denominations,  and  it  appears  to  me  altogether  proper  for 
our  Church  to  lead  the  van,  as  it  is  well  known  to  be  the 
pioneer  Church  of  the  age.  The  ministers  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  South  are  so  universally  disloyal  that 
their  Church  is  nearly  numbered  .with  the  things  that  have 
been,  while  a  portion  of  the  lay  members  are  loyal.  I  be- 
lieve this  portion  would  gladly  unite  with  a  loyal  Church. 
I  further  believe  that  a  first-class  minister  would  be  liber- 
ally supported  by  the  two  towns — Kansas  City  and  West- 
port — which  places  are  only  four  miles  apart,  with  a  good 
M'Adamized  road  between  them.  Now,  Mr.  Editor,  can 
not  something  be  done  to  accomplish  so  desirable  an  object?" 

From  many  other  places  in  the  State  similar  earnest  and 
urgent  requests  came  for  the  ministry  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

4.  The  President's  Proclamation  of  liberty  to  the  slaves 
of  rebels  began  as  early  as  the  last  of  February  to  work  out 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  415 

its  appropriate  results.  None  of  the  predicted  insurrections 
took  place.  In  Missouri  the  sentiment  became  general  that 
the  system  was  hopelessly  ruined.  The  slaves,  too,  were  dis- 
posed to  bide  their  time,  as  they  considered  deliverance  near 
at  hand.  Thus  public  sentiment  was  gravitating  toward 
the  status  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which,  from 
the  first,  testified  and  acted  against  slavery  with  a  view  to 
its  final  extirpation.  The  Church  maintaining  this  stern 
position  never,  however,  infringed  the  civil  law,  unjust  as 
it  was,  considering  that  moral  means  constituted  her  great 
weapon.  But  the  rebellion  had  annulled  the  Fugitive-Slave 
law,  and  the  Almighty  himself  seemed  to  be  ushering  in 
the  great  jubilee  of  deliverance  for  four  millions  of  enslaved 
men,  women,  and  children. 

5.  The  successful  prosecution  of  the  war  by  the  United 
States  Government  toward  the  close  of  February,  1863, 
seemed  to  be  life  from  the  dead  to  the  Union  men  of  the 
South-West,  especially  to  the  scattered  fragments  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  yet  left  in  Missouri.  With 
such  thoughts  as  the  following,  we  occupied  the  columns  of 
the  Central  Christian  Advocate,  as  a  sober  reason  for  the 
encouragement  of  these  dispersed  and  peeled  Methodists: 

"  Of  the  fifteen  slave  States,  the  rebels  have  thirteen 
under  their  control  and  in  their  alliance.  Missouri  would 
have  been  added  had  it  not  been  for  the  influence  of  Kan- 
sas, Iowa,  and  Illinois.  Delaware,  Maryland,  and  Kentucky 
were  divided  in  their  allegiance.  With  these  exceptions, 
th£  fifteen  slave  States  were  identified  with  the  rebellion 
They  swayed  the  entire  South,  the  Mississippi  included 
They  possessed  the  military  arsenal  of  Harper's  Ferry,  and 
the  vast  naval  yards  at  Norfolk  and  Pensacola.  They  held 
the  eastern  shore  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  which  gave  them 
the  control  of  that  bay  to  the  ocean. 

"They  have   lost  during   the  war,  up   to   this   date,   the 


416  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

eastern  shore  of  Chesapeake  Bay  and  the  command  of  the 
Potomac,  the  city  of  Norfolk  and  its  arsenals  and  dock-yards, 
and  the  neighboring  country  and  the  dock-yards  of  Pensa- 
cola ;  they  have  lost  all  Virginia  west  of  the  Alleghanies, 
Missouri,  Arkansas,  and  part  of  Tennessee,  comprising  Nash- 
ville, the  civil  capital,  and  Memphis,  the  commercial  capital; 
they  have  lost  Hatteras,  Hilton  Head,  New  Orleans,  the 
Mississippi,  from  its  mouth  to  its  junction  with  the  Ohio, 
and  many  other  places.  The  insurgents  do  not  now  hold  a 
foot  of  ground  which  they  did  no-t  hold  early  in  the  war. 
Their  armies  have  been  driven  from  an  area  of  more  than 
one  hundred  thousand  square  miles,  while  the  flag  of  the 
Union  floats  in  every  slave  State  save  one. 

"  None  of  the  loyal  States  have  been  the  seat  of  war — for 
the  raids  on  Pennsylvania,  Indiana,  and  Ohio  are  scarcely 
worth  mentioning — while  general  prosperity  has  prevailed 
in  the  free  States. 

"The  steps  in  the  progress  of  National  justice  have  been 
numerous  and  marked  in  the  free  States.  No  more  slaves 
are  to  be  admitted  into  the  Territories;  the  District  is  now 
free;  the  pirate  Gibson  has  been  hanged;  there  has  been  a 
treaty  with  England  to  suppress  the  slave-trade;  Hayti  and 
Liberia  have  been  recognized ;  Missouri  is  in  process  of  be- 
coming a  free  State;  the  Confiscation  bill,  as  an  act  of  jus- 
tice, confiscates  the  slaves  of  all  rebels.  The  Proclamation 
of  the  President  does  no  more  than  carry  out  or  execute 
the  law  of  the  land;  for,  as  slaves  are  property,  and  the 
property  of  rebels  is  confiscated,  therefore  the  slaves  of  all 
rebels,  according  to  all  just  laws,  are  confiscated. 

"The  hand  and  providence  of  God  seem  manifest  in  the 
present  state  of  events.  The  unjust  platforms  of  political 
parties  are  now  broken.  The  Republicans  bound  themselves 
to  proceed  no  further  than  to  stop  the  extension  of  slavery, 
although,  in  general,  they  acknowledged  it  to  be  wrong. 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  417 

The  Democrats  turned  their  eyes  from  its  wrongs,  and  were 
intent  on  the  preservation  of  their  party,  but  their  wrong 
purposes  led  to  their  division  and  confusion.  The  Union 
party  is  now  the  only  one,  and  its  counterpart  is  made  up 
of  neutrals,  sympathizers,  and  rebels,  or  traitors,  while,  at 
the  same  time,  God  has  sustained  the  cause  of  primitive 
and  Scriptural  democracy  among  those  who  vote,  sustain, 
and  fight  for  the  unity  of  the  United  States,  which  is  only 
another  name  for  liberty,  the  Constitution,  and  the  laws. 

"God,  in  his  providence,  has  baffled  technical  political 
parties.  He  has  raised  the  National  party  to  support  the 
American  system  of  free  Government.  He  is  also  bring- 
ing defeats  and  confusion  to  the  advocates  and  aiders  of 
oppression,  as  truly  as  he  did  to  Pharaoh  and  his  hosts  and 
nation." 

The  foregoing  survey,  recounting  the  doings  of  the  Al- 
mighty, so  encouraged  our  people  in  Missouri  that,  not  with 
dejection,  but  with  hope,  they  looked  toward  the  future. 

6.  In  a  letter  from  Arkansas,  early  in  March,  by  Hiram 
Ward,  a  private  member,  we  learned  that  Mr.  Bewley 
preached  his  last  sermon  at  the  parsonage  of  Bentonville 
mission,  Arkansas.  "His  text  was — 2  Cor.  iv,  5 — 'For  we 
preach  not  ourselves,'  etc.  In  a  few  days  afterward  he  was 
caught,  and  carried  back  to  Texas  and  murdered.  Method- 
ist preachers  were  notified  to  stop  preaching,  or  they  would 
share  the  same  fate.  We  dared  not  assemble  to  worship  in 
any  way  in  the  name  of  Methodists  and  Union  men.  Some 
of  the  members  escaped  from  the  hand  of  the  rebels,  and 
found  homes  in  Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri,  and  Kansas. 
Part  succeeded  in  getting  some  property  away,  and  others 
lost  all.  Some  are  still  trying  to  stay  in  Arkansas,  under 
all  their  trials,  and  some  of  us  are  still  hanging  to  the  old 
ship." 

Rev.  J.  R.  West,  who  had  been  greatly  harassed,  made 


418  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

his  way  to  Kansas.  Rev.  C.  Baker  was  then  in  Arkansas. 
Three  laymen,  R.  Y.  Hoback,  Wallace  True,  and  Hiram 
Ward,  made  out  to  reach  Tecumseh,  Kansas.  Very  few  of 
our  members  or  preachers  were  left  in  all  the  State. 

7.  At  this  time  there  was  a  clear  outspoken  testimony 
from  many  of  the  Southern  Methodists  against  the  rebell- 
ious and  pro-slavery  character  of  the  ministers  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  South. 

Rev.  Alfred  H.  Powell  sent  us  a  letter  from  Springfield, 
Missouri,  March  1st.  We  gather  from  this  that  he  was 
born  and  raised  on  slave  soil,  and  joined  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  when  only  fourteen  years  of  age.  As  a 
matter  of  course  he  went  with  others,  in  1845,  into  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  and  was  a  traveling 
preacher  among  them  from  1850  to  1861.  During  the  last- 
mentioned  year  he  located,  in  consequence  of  the  disloyal 
character  of  the  Southern  Methodist  Church.  He  then 
became  a  chaplain  in  the  loyal  army,  and  served  till  De- 
cember, 1862,  when  he  resigned.  He  stated  that  many 
Southern  preachers,  in  response  to  objections  to  the  Fugi- 
tive-Slave law  of  1850,  argued  that  obedience  to  the  pow- 
ers that  be  was  the  duty  of  Christians.  But  on  the  election 
of  Mr.  Lincoln  in  1860,  this  was  considered  criminal,  even 
in  the  face  of  the  Twenty-Third  Article  of  Religion.  He 
therefore  concluded,  for  just  reasons,  to  leave  the  Southern 
Church  and  unite  with  the  Church  in  which  he  was  born 
and  baptized.  He  was  always  loyal  to  the  Government  of 
the  United  States.  He  refers  to  several  Southern  Meth- 
odist preachers  who  were  loyal  men;  namely,  Foster,  Wil- 
liams, and  Myers ;  also  to  several  local  preachers,  as  A.  C. 
Mitchell,  Dr.  Wm.  Denby,  Isaac  Routh,  and  R.  B.  Rogers. 
Such  was  the  honest  course  of  this  noble  man,  who  has 
since  that  time  done  good  service  in  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church. 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  419 

Rev.  N.  Shumate  and  Rev.  Wm.  Hanley  spent  several 
days,  embracing  Sabbath,  March  19th,  in  Louisiana,  preach- 
ing to  and  visiting  the  people  of  that  city,  who  received 
them  with  great  cordiality.  Most  of  the  Southern  Meth- 
odists there  were  loyal,  and  disposed  to  unite  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  It  was  also  reported  that 
some  two  thousand  loyal  Southern  Methodists  in  that  region 
would  soon  leave  the  disloyal  organization  and  unite  with 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Similar  statements  could 
be  made  of  numerous  other  places  in  Missouri. 

8.  The  Missouri  Conference  sat  this  year  at  Hannibal, 
March  4th,  Bishop  Ames  presiding.  The  Conference  of 
18G1  made  its  missionary  appropriations  on  the  usual  basis, 
supposing  the  missionaries  would  be  permitted  to  prosecute 
their  work.  On  the  contrary,  they  were  very  much  inter- 
rupted. Preachers  were  driven  from  their  work,  and  peo- 
ple driven  from  their  homes.  Some  preachers,  dependent 
principally  on  the  missionary  appropriation  for  support,  in 
consequence,  were  in  great  straits.  The  Conference  decided 
that  when  preachers  received  remuneration  from  Govern- 
ment or  other  sources,  they  should  not  receive  missionary 
money.  This  was  all  very  right,  but  it  did  not  meet  the 
difficulty  of  several  sent  to  fields  of  labor  who  were  to  be 
supported  partly  by  the  missionary  grant  and  partly  by 
their  circuits.  Several  of  these  could  not  labor  on  the 
fields  assigned  them,  our  people  having  left  the  country, 
and  the  preachers,  on  account  of  the  war,  could  find  no 
hearers.  These,  in  the  general  chaos,  unable  to  secure  any 
business  or  position  of  profit,  had  no  means  of  support  from 
any  source.  When  such  were  cut  off  from  their  missionary 
appropriation,  it  was  felt  to  be  a  cool  severity,  easier  in 
theory  than  in  practice.  Thus,  about  one  thousand  dollars 
of  the  appropriation  allowed  in  1861  were  refunded  to  the 
Missionary  Society.  This  anomaly  formed  part  of  the 


420  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Bufferings  undergone  by  the  Missouri  preachers  that  year, 
and  was  such  as  never  occurred  before,  and  may  never 
occur  again. 

We  here  present  the  statistics  of  the  Missouri  and  Ar- 
kansas Conference  for  several  years  back  as  follows : 

1859 8,341  members. 

1860 7,764          " 

1861 5,129 

1862 2,141 

1863 4,387 

In  1863  there  were  three  districts  and  thirty-two  circuits 
and  stations,  requiring  thirty-five  efficient  preachers  to  fill 
them,  and  of  these  there  were  five  appointments  to  be  sup- 
plied. And  where  there  were  three  districts  south  of  the 
Missouri  River,  in  former  years,  there  was  then  only  one 
of  twelve  appointments.  All  the  territory  west  of  Rolla 
and  Sedalia,  and  south  of  De  Soto  and  Holla,  had  no 
preachers.  The  rest  of  our  preachers  and  people  in  Ar- 
kansas and  Texas  were  either  driven  out  of  these  States  or 
left  for  California,  Oregon,  and  Kansas.  Missouri  lost 
many  from  the  same  causes  and  in  the  same  way. 

But  notwithstanding  all  these  disadvantages,  the  door 
formerly  shut  was  now  open  to  our  preachers  to  an  encour- 
aging extent.  No  pro-slavery  or  unpatriotic  stain  was  upon 
our  people  or  preachers  in  Missouri. 

One  of  the  preachers  of  our  Church  was  appointed  to 
preach  in  the  Southern  Methodist  Church  in  Hannibal,  on 
the  Sabbath  of  Conference.  On  his  way  to  the  church,  in 
a  crowd,  they  were  stopped  by  a  company  coming  from  the 
church,  one  of  whom  remarked,  "  f  think  there  won't  be 
much  of  a  meeting  at  our  church ;  there  is  to  be  a  preacher 
from  Ohio."  One  of  the  company  asked,  "  Will  he  preach 
politics  ?"  The  preacher  remarked,  "  If  it  is  the  Ohio  man, 
he  will  preach  Christ,  he  will  not  preach  politics."  "  Well, 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  421 

I  will  go  and  hear  him,  and  if  he  does,  I  will  get  up  and 
leave  the  house."  The  minister  preached  as  usual  for  him, 
and  left  the  people  weeping.  The  next  morning,  one  of  the 
members  said,  ."  I  liked  the  sermon  well  enough,  but  I  did 
not  like  his  praying  for  the  President;  it  is  the  first  time 
such  a  prayer  has  been  heard  in  our  church  for  two  years." 
This  incident  had  much  significance. 

9.  About  the  close  of  March,  1863,  the  affairs  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  began  to  assume  a  more  favor- 
able condition  than  for  the  two  previous  years,  although  the 
impediments  were  still  numerous,  and  such  as  time  alone 
could  remedy. 

The  Tories,  who  uttered  blasphemy  in  calling  themselves 
Democrats,  seemed  pretty  well  used  up,  during  March.  In 
the  West  they  were  urged  on  by  the  Chicago  Times  and 
the  Cincinnati  Enquirer,  as  principals,  and  the  Quincy 
Herald  and  Missouri  Republican,  as  seconds,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  some  other  sheets  of  less  importance.  But  these 
did  not  represent  the  great  Democratic  body,  the  reliable 
men  of  which  were  then  rallying  around  the  Union  Gov- 
ernment. 

The  Union  armies  in  old  Virginia,  South  Carolina,  and 
Georgia  were  treading  out  the  wine-press  of  the  iniquities 
of  these  devoted  regions. 

At  the  beginning  of  1862  the  enemy  was  intrenched  on 
the  Mississippi,  and  holding'it  from  its  mouth  to  Cairo,  and 
from  New  Madrid  and  Columbus,  and  extended  to  Forts 
Henry  r  Donelson,  and  Bowling  Green.  At  this  time  we 
hold  the  great  river,  aria1  with  it  Forts  Henry,  Donelson, 
Bowling  Green,  New  Madrid,  Nashville,  Memphis,  New  Or- 
leans, Baton  Rouge,  etc. 

For  nearly  two  years  hostile  armies  marched  over  Mis- 
souri, desolating  fields  and  firesides.  Roving  bauds  of  rob- 
bers and  murderers  triumphantly  rioted  in  once  peaceful 


422  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

homes.  Many  of  our  citizens  were  murdered,  others  robbed, 
and  still  others  driven  from  the  country. 

The  President's  Proclamation  was  working  wonders  in 
favor  of  the  Union  and  liberty. 

The  colored  troops,  too,  important  auxiliaries  to  our 
armies,  are  being  marshaled  to  complete  the  war  force. 

The  loyal  States  also  were  in  great  prosperity  and  com- 
fort, with  the  exception  of  the  valuable  lives  lost  in  the 
war. 

The  mighty  hand  of  God  at  this  time  was  manifestly 
pleading  the  cause  of  justice  and  liberty,  and  punishing 
transgression. 

10.  Rev.  A.  H.  Powell,  of  whom  we  formerly  made  favor- 
able mention,  was  anxious  to  have  the  loyal  Southern  Meth- 
odists unite  with  the   Methodist   Episcopal    Church.     In  a 
letter  dated  April  6th,  in  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of 
April  16th,  he  argues  that  as  the  Southern  Methodist  Church 
as  a  whole  was  disloyal,  the  only  course  for  her  loyal  members 
was  to  unite  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.     They 
could   not   consistently  remain  where  they  were,  to  form  a 
new  Church   would   be    unavailable,   and    to  meet  the  exi- 
gency, there  was  nothing  left  but  to  join   the  old  Church. 
Several  letters  were  addressed  by  him  to  his  brethren  in  the 
Southern   Church,  and   published   in  the  Central  Christian 
Advocate. 

11.  A  marvelous  change  has  taken  place  in  Missouri  on 
the  great  question  of  slavery.     When   the  Convention,  in 
the  Spring  of  1861,  was  called,  Governor  Gamble  spoke  as 
follows  : 

"No  countenance  will  be  afforded  to  any  scheme  or  to 
any  conduct  calculated  in  any  degree  to  interfere  with  the 
institution  of  slavery  existing  in  the  State.  To  the  very 
utmost  extent  of  executive  power  that  institution  will  be 
protected." 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  423 

In  calling  the  Convention  in  April,  1863,  Governor  Gam- 
ble stated  that  it  might  "  consult  and  act  on  the  subject  of 
the  emancipation  of  slaves." 

Thus  the  work  of  emancipation  was  progressing  in  Mis- 
souri. The  providence  of  God  was  overruling  and  control- 
ling the  adjustments  of  political  parties  according  to  the 
righteous  judgment  of  God.  The  old  Garrisonian  party 
would  dash  to  pieces  the  Constitution,  divide  the  Union,  or 
any  thing  else  short  of  fighting,  in  order  to  free  the  slaves. 
Now  all  is  changed.  The  Republican  platform  avowed  no 
more  interference  with  slavery  than  merely  to  stop  its  ex- 
tension. The  technical  Democrats  would  allow  it  to  extend 
every-where.  The  Garrisonians,  diminished  in  numbers,  were 
hurrahing  for  the  Union.  The  recent  Tories  almost  ceased 
to  exist.  Congress,  in  1862,  would  have  given  ten  millions 
to  Missouri  for,  freeing  her  slaves ;  but  the  pro-slavery  men 
wanted  twenty  millions.  This  demand  not  being  met,  the 
rapid  movement  in  favor  of  freedom  in  the  issue  overturned 
forever  the  greed  of  being  paid  for  theft  and  robbery.  If 
justice  were  to  have  full  sway,  every  slaveholder  should  be 
compelled  to  give  to  his  emancipated  slaves  from  one  hund- 
red to  one  thousand  dollars,  or  more,  for  the  oppression 
inflicted  on  them  while  they  were  slaves. 

12.  The  loyal  members  and  ministers  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  South,  of  Pike  and  Montgomery  counties, 
few  in  number,  however,  had  a  meeting  to  repudiate  the 
doings  of  the  Missouri  Conference,  held  in  Glasgow,  in  1861, 
and  also  to  consider  what  was  to  be  done  for  their  relief. 
One  of  them,  in  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  April 
30,  1863,  gives  the  following  outline  of  the  case: 

"  The  disunion  preachers  and  members  are  the  seceders 
from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  in  the  United 
States,  because  their  new  Church  was  the  Church  of  the 
Confederate  States ;  and,  therefore,  the  Union  preachers  and 


424  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

members  compose  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South. 
The  Twenty-Third  Article  of  Faith  of  the  Southern  Church 
is  the  same  with  that  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  recognized  the  United  States  Government.  The  Mis- 
souri Conference  at  St.  Charles,  in  1860,  appointed  Hanni- 
bal for  its  seat  in  September,  1861.  In  the  mean  time  the 
rebellion  broke  out,  and  some  of  the  preachers  removed  the 
Conference  to  Glasgow,  being  afraid  of  the  Unionism  of 
Hannibal,  and  thus  the  Conference  threw  itself  into  the 
arms  of  the  rebel,  Mart.  Green.  At  this  session,  the  rebel, 
Rev.  W.  G.  Caples,  was  chosen  President,  no  Bishop  being 
present.  If  Mr.  Caples  claimed  to  be  a  citizen  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy,  he  was  a  foreign  enemy.  If  he 
claimed  to  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  he  was  a  domes- 
tic traitor.  By  electing  him,  the  Conference  indorsed  him ; 
they  announced  themselves  as  a  body  of  traitors.  In  every 
place  where  the  rebel  army  had  control,  the  Southern  Con- 
ferences met.  The  Holston  Conference,  Bishop  Early  pre- 
siding, held  at  Athens,  Tenn.,  October,  1862,  suspended  all 
its  Union  preachers.  The  Missouri  Conference  uttered  no 
disapprobation.  The  following  incident  would  illustrate  the 
case  of  Southern  Methodist  preachers  generally  in  Missouri : 
A  Southern  preacher  applied  to  the  Provost  Marshal  for 
a  permit  to  go  into  .the  country  to  hunt.  After  receiving 
it,  he  remarked  to  the  officer,  *  Well,  Colonel,  this  pass  will 
protect  me  among  the  Federals,  but  what  shall  I  do  if  the 
bushwhackers  get  hold  of  me?'  'Do?'  said  the  Colonel, 
'  why,  just  tell  them  you  are  a  Southern  Methodist  preacher, 
and  the  name  will  carry  you  safe  through  rebeldom.' 
Another  Southern  Methodist  said,  '.The  Southern  Church  is 
strong  enough  to  take  the  State  out  of  the  Union,  and  if 
she  does  her  duty  she  will  take  it  out.'  Thus  far  the 
Southern  Methodist." 

13.  The  loyal  Methodists  of  Kansas  City,  Weston,  and 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  425 

vicinity,  early  in  May,  addressed  Bishop  Ames,  asking  for 
a  preacher.  They  declared  themselves  in  favor  of  a  per- 
manent Methodist  Church  in  Kansas  City ;  that  religious  as 
well  as  civil  affairs  had  been  with  them  in  an  unsettled 
condition,  owing  to  the  rebellion,  and  now  they  needed  the 
molding  influences  of  religion  in  their  midst.  Some  of 
them  were  members  of  the  Southern  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  but  the  day  of  usefulness  for  that  Church  was  now 
past,  and  their  only  hope  was  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  which  has  never  swerved  from  its  allegiance  to  the 
Government,  whose  flag  has  .  been  and  is  the  emblem  of 
light  and  Christian  civilization  the  world  over.  They  then 
earnestly  petition  for  an  able,  loyal  minister  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church. 

Rev.  Samuel  Huffman,  who  had  labored  eight  years  in 
Missouri,  knew  the  whole  State,  and  who  had  nobly  served 
a  successful  term  as  chaplain  in  a  Missouri  regiment,  speaks 
as  follows,  in  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  May  7th: 

"  In  this  region,  where  we  have  been  so  long  proscribed  and 
maltreated,  I  think  we  have  now  cause  'to  thank  God  and 
take  courage.'  We  can  preach  almost  every-where  now 
without  serious  molestation,  unless  it  may  be  in  some  local- 
ities where  treason  is  in  the  ascendency.  In  such  places 
our  intense  loyalty,  now  read  and  known  of  all  men,  pre- 
vents our  being  heard,  but  these  places  are  getting  few  and 
far  between.  Thank  God  and  our  good  Government  for  it! 
The  door  is  opening,  and  the  field  is  large  and  white  unto 
the  harvest,  but  the  laborers  are  few.  0  how  much  we 
need  help  here  on  this  vast  field,  so  singularly  and  so  won- 
derfully being  opened  for  our  occupancy!" 

A  former  Southern  Methodist  at  this  time  exhorts  his 
brethren  thus:  "My  advice  would  be  to  unite  at  once  with 
the  old  Methodist  Church.  It  has  always  been  loyal,  and 
I  expect  it  always  will  be.  This  is  the  plan  we  have 

36 


426  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

adopted  in  this  neighborhood — Cahoka,  Clark  county,  Mo. 
Last  July  I  withdrew  from  the  Southern  Church,  for  no 
other  reason  than  simply  because  I  regarded  the  Church 
as  disloyal.  A  few  weeks  after  I  withdrew  we  organized  a 
class  of  old-fashioned  Methodists  in  Cahoka^  now  it  num- 
bers about  fifty  members,"  etc. 

14.  Up  even  to  this  time  the  Churches  in  Missouri,  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  excepted,  were,  in  their  majorities,  on 
the  side  of  rebellion.  The  Old  School  Presbyterian  General 
Assembly,  in  May,  1862,  decided,  by  a  two-thirds  majority, 
against  rebellion;  but,  in  Missouri,  the  majority  are  still  for 
secession.  The  Presbytery  of  St.  Louis,  May  16,  1863,  in 
the  case  of  the  notorious  traitor,  Dr.  M'Pheters,  decided  in 
his  favor  by  a  majority  of  fifteen  to  four,  and  this  gave 
about  their  proportions  throughout  the  State.  The  same 
status  prevailed  among  the  Episcopalians,  Baptists,  Cum- 
berland Presbyterians,  and  Campbellites ;  but  the  Presby- 
terians were,  even  then,  in  process  of  attaining  a  more  loyal 
condition. 

Dr.  M'Anally,  who  had  been  sentenced,  a  short  time  be- 
fore, to  banishment  to  Dixie,  was  relieved  from  the  sentence, 
May  13th,  by  Provost  Marshal  General  F.  A.  Dick,  on  the 
representation  of  a  Mr.  Stafford,  who  professed  to  be  loyal — 
so  loyal  as  to  esteem  rebels  to  be  loyal.  The  Democrat  of 
the  21st  remarked  on  the  occasion:  "His  [M'Anally's] 
paper,  the  Advocate,  was  a  viper  concern,  and,  while  per- 
mitted by  the  military  authorities  to  exist,  did  more,  in  an 
insidious  way,  to  poison  the  public  mind  of  Missouri  toward 
the  Government  than  almost  any  other  treasonable  agency 
among  us."  At  this  time  a  new  order  of  things  was  com- 
menced, through  the  conservatives,  one  effect  of  which  was 
the  dismission  of  General  Curtis  from  the  command  in  Mis- 
souri. Governor  Gamble,  Mr.  Henderson,  and  others  of  like 
sort,  at  that  time,  were  among  those  who  were  foremost  in 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  427 

the  removal  of  General  Curtis.  This  proved  very  injurious 
to  the  peace  of  Missouri;  for,  when  the  new  dynasty  was 
initiated,  loyal  men,  especially  loyal  Methodists,  came  under 
its  displeasure  almost  as  much  as  rebels  themselves.  It 
seemed  difficult  for  these  quasi-loyal  authorities  to  desist 
from  their  former  habitual  abuse  of  these  parties. 

15.  The  progress  of  the  war  was  now  such  as  to  give  en- 
couragement to  our  beleaguered  Church  in  Missouri;  for, 
while  more  or  less  disaster  occurred  to  our  armies,  on  the 
whole,  the  good  cause  of  the  Union  was  on  the  advance. 
This  animated  our  people  very  much,  while  it  dismayed 
those  who  had  opposed  and  persecuted  them. 

Although,  as  was  right,  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  did  not  purpose,  in  going  to  war,  to  destroy  slavery, 
but  to  preserve  the  Union,  yet  Providence  ordered  other- 
wise. The  slave  system  converts  men  into  property.  The 
laws  of  nations,  natural  law,  the  dictates  of  reason,  and 
Scripture  decide  that  the  property  of  rebels  should  be  con- 
fiscated to  the  State.  Congress  acted  constitutionally  in  de- 
claring that  slave  property,  as  well  as  any  other  property 
of  rebels,  should  be  confiscated,  and  the  President's  Procla- 
mation only  published  what  Congress  had  authorized.  Thus 
slavery  contained  the  very  elements  of  self-destruction,  in 
spite  of  all  the  civil  laws  that  could  be  enacted.  National 
rights,  as  the  Roman  law  long  since  decided,  overturn,  neces- 
sarily, these  decisions  of  civil  law.  Laws  to  authorize  theft, 
robbery,  murder,  arson,  assault  and  battery  must  be  self-de- 
structive, and  so  with  the  slave  laws,  guards,  compacts,  etc. 

Divine  Providence,  in  the  exercise  of  justice,  overruled 
our  movements  for  the  purpose  of  treading  down  and  crush- 
ing out  rebellion  against  law  and  liberty.  The  vengeance 
of  the  Almighty  fell  specially  on  the  regions  most  guilty. 
Putting  the  sword  into  the  hands  of  the  downtrodden 
colored  people  has  infused  into  them  a, new  courage  and 


428  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

consciousness  of  manhood.  Thousands  of  colored  soldiers 
have  been  marshaled  on  the  fields  of  battle.  Their  race, 
in  America,  is  now  free,  never  to  be  enslaved  again.  This 
is  the  Lord's  doings,  and  is  marvelous  in  our  eyes. 

16.  The  door  of  usefulness,  amid  many  hinderances,  be? 
gan  to  open  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  all 
quarters  of  the  State. 

Rev.  J*.  H.  Hopkins,  writing  from  Kansas  City,  May  4th, 
says:  "I  have  organized  a  Church  in  this  city  of  about 
forty  members;  the  most  of  them  are  from  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  South.  In  Independence  there  are  thir- 
teen, in  West  Point  about  twenty,  and  they  are  very  anxious 
for  a  preacher.  There  is  nothing  to  prevent  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  from  taking  possession  of  the  entire 
ground  in  this  part  of  the  State." 

The  southern  part  of  the  State  for  two  years  prior  had 
been  very  much  disturbed,  and  recent  rebel  raids  in  the 
South-East,  at  Cape  Grirardeau,  Fredericksburg,  Pilot  Knob, 
etc.,  renewed  the  disturbance.  In  the  South- West  the  prev- 
alence of  bushwhackers  prevented  any  successful  occupancy 
at  that  time.  On  the  Missouri,  from  Kansas  City  down- 
ward, the  guerrillas  were  so  very  troublesome,  that  the 
preachers  were  confined  to  towns  where  soldiers  were  sta- 
tioned. In  Kansas  City  and  Independence  Chaplain  J.  H. 
Hopkins  labored  several  months  till  relieved  by  Rev.  A.  H. 
Powell.  Presiding  elder  Smith,  visiting  that  city,  had  to 
go  by  way  of  St.  Joseph  by  railroad,  as  traveling  on  the 
river  was  eminently  dangerous  for  a  preacher  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church. 

To  meet  the  wants  of  Missouri  and  Arkansas,  our  Mis- 
sionary Society  appropriated  $7,000  for  the  neediest  portions, 
besides  $3,000  as  a  contingent  fund.  Our  Church  began 
with  the  county  seats,  and  principal  towns,  and  cities,  and 
as  dangers  and  perils  abated,  has  since  penetrated  to  every 


EVENTS  OP  1863.  429 

nook  and  corner  of  the  land.  The  following  observations 
were  made  at  that  time : 

The  day  of  controversy  between  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  is  now 
over.  The  lines  were  drawn.  The  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  South  is  on  the  side  of  rebellion,  as  a  Church,  and 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  as  a  Church,  is  for  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  and  is  antislavery  in  prin- 
ciple and  practice.  This  is  now  well  known. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  called  upon  to  pro- 
mote, in  the  South-West,  education  in  all  its  grades,  from 
the  highest  collegiate  to  the  primary  or  common  school. 
And  hence  it  will  be  necessary  to  introduce  teachers  in 
great  numbers. 

When  the  days  of  bushwhacking  are  over,  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  will  occupy  all  Missouri.  A  loyal  anti- 
slavery  Church  is  needed,  and  such  is  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  without  a  speck*  of  disunion  or  pro-slavery 
tinge.  The  few  pro-slavery  disunionists  in  the  Virginia 
part  of  the  Baltimore  Conference,  and  a  few  in  Western 
Virginia,  were  not  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and 
their  own  errors  and  missteps  separated  them  from  the  body 
on  which  they  were  unnatural  parasites. 

17.  We  note  here  several  items,  showing  the  condition 
of  the  religious  element  in  Missouri : 

Rev.  A.  H.  Powell  addressed,  through  the  Central  Chris- 
tian Advocate  of  June  18th,  a  letter  to  Southern  Method- 
ists, in  which  he  says  he  was  raised  in  a  slave  State,  and 
might  formerly  have  been  considered  as  in  favor  of  slavery. 
But  now  he  was  in  favor  of  emancipation,  because  slavery 
repudiates  the  marital  rights;  it  invades  the  ballot-box,  in- 
vades conscience,  and  destroys  the  freedom  of  speech  and 
the  press ;  it  fosters  ignorance,  and  prevents  the  exercise 
of  the  ministerial  office.  In  view  of  these  facts,  he  asks 


430  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

his  loyal  Southern  brethren  if  it  is  not  their  duty,  as  Meth- 
odists, to  return  at  once  to  the  old  Church,  and  as  citizens 
to  remain  firm  in  the  Union. 

Rev.  W.  S.  Wentz,  presiding  elder  of  St.  Joseph  dis- 
trict, wrote  as  follows :  "  Scarcely  a  week  passes  but  we 
receive  either  written  or  verbal  requests  to  furnish  preach- 
ing. Send  us  a  LOYAL  MINISTER  is  the  CRY  on  all  hands." 
This  call  came  from  all  quarters  of  the  State. 

Emancipation  became  the  leading  topic  of  the  times. 
That  element  of  the  Constitution,  which  was  on  its  adop- 
tion a  legal  fiction,  seemed  now  to  have  given  place  to  the 
higher  constitutional  principle  of  justice  and  the  general 
good.  As  slave  laws  made  man  property,  justice  confiscates 
this  property  when  held  by  traitors.  The  rising  indigna- 
tion of  Missouri  called  for  tbe  vengeance  of  total  destruc- 
tion to  the  whole  system.  The  day  for  remunerating 
slaveholders  for  emancipation  of  slaves  had  passed  away, 
never  to  return. 

In  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  June  llth,  Rev.  ^F. 
C.  Smith  and  the  editor  published  a  circular,  urging  farm- 
ers, mechanics,  miners,  teachers,  merchants,  local  preachers, 
itinerants,  of  unquestionable  loyalty,  to  come  to  Missouri, 
as  the  way  was  then,  or  shortly  would  be,  open  for  them 
to  enjoy  life  in  peace  and  protection  and  unbounded 
prosperity. 

18.  While  it  is  true  many  places  were- now  opening  to 
our  ministry,  bushwhackers  still  infested  many  places  in 
the  State.  Our  preachers  could  not  travel  in  the  South 
and  South -West  without  imminent  peril,  nor  could  the  peo- 
ple be  collected  for  worship.  Notwithstanding  the  cry  for 
loyal  preachers  from  many  quarters,  there  was  much  more 
difficulty  in  occupying  Missouri  than  these  favorable  indi- 
cations would  seem  to  indicate.  There  might  be  many 
favorable  omens  and  much  improvement  on  the  past,  and 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  431 

yet  the  fortune  of  our  ministers  and  people  be  a  hard  and 
dangerous  one. 

Besides,  the  fifty  thousand  Southern  Methodists,  and  their 
two  hundred  preachers,  though  now  disorganized  and  de- 
moralized, as  a  whole,  had  a  very  strong  antipathy  to  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Yet  we  must  provide  for  the 
loyal  ones,  or  as  many  as  would  cleave  to  the  Church  of 
their  fathers.  Presbyterians,  Baptists,  Campbellites,  Cum- 
berlands,  Episcopalians,  were  most  generally  rebels  or  sym- 
pathizers, and  had  no  friendly  bearing  toward  the  loyal 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  And  then  our  people  had 
been  so  thinned  as  to  leave  us  scarcely  a  moiety  of  what 
we  were  some  three  years  previous.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, we  penned  the  following  exhortation  for  the  Cen- 
tral Christian  Advocate  of  June  11,  1863 : 

"  We  hope  and  urge,  as  we  have  frequently  done,  that 
our  religious  brethren,  where  two  or  more  can  meet,  will 
hold  prayer  meetings,  hear  exhortations  and  preaching 
where  there  is  a  preacher.  This  means  will  provide  tem- 
porary spiritual  assistance  and  comfort,  and  lead  the  way 
to  a  more  thorough  organization.  Most  of  the  Methodist 
Churches  in  America  commenced  in  this  way.  Come, 
brethren,  organize,  organize,  ORGANIZE,  or  meet  to  pray, 
hear  exhortation,  sermon-reading,  or  preaching,  as  the  case 
may  be.  This  done,  you  are  a  Church,  if  only  two  or  three 
meet  in  this  way.  Let  us  hear  from  you.  Choose  your 
own  leader.  Select  your  sermon-reader.  If  you  have  not 
sermons,  read  Christ's  sermon  on  the  mount  for  one  full 
year,  every  Sunday,  and  you  will  be  greatly  blessed.  Start 
a  Sunday  school.  Gather  the  children  on  Sabbath  day; 
talk  to  them,  read  to  them,  and  pray  with  them,  and  the 
work  is  done.  This  will  lay  the  foundation  for  a  large 
Church.  We  have  seen  this  done  in  hundreds  of  places. 
If  there  are  no  Christian  brethren,  there  may  be  sisters. 


432  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Come,  sisters,  call  your  neighbors  together,  and  call  on  the 
men  to  read,  and  if  they  will  not  read  or  pray,  read,  pray, 
exhort,  preach  yourselves  till  God  revives  his  work.  One 
zealous  woman  thus  introduced  Methodism  .into  France. 
Mrs.  Wesley  read  sermons  and  prayers  to  the  parishioners 
of  her  husband.  Three  negro  slave  women  thus  labored  in 
the  island  of  Antigua,  from  1764,  after  the  death  of  their 
master,  Mr.  Gilbert,  till  they  obtained  a  missionary  from 
London.  This  was  the  precursor  of  West  India  evangeliza- 
tion, and  that  of  emancipation." 

19.  In  Missouri,  this  year,  a  marvelous  movement  was  in 
progress.  Emancipation,  resisted  by  the  conservatives,  was 
urged  by  the  antislavery  men  with  great  vigor.  The  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States,  misled  by  these  conservatives, 
lent  his  authority  to  the  temporary  humiliation  of  the  gen- 
uine Union  men.  While  all  these  commotions  were  in  prog- 
ress the  opponents  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  were 
checked,  and  our  remaining  ministers  and  people  were  en- 
couraged to  labor  on,  as  they  saw  their  redemption  drawing 
near. 

The  body  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  in 
Louisiana,  Mo.,  late  in  June,  made  a  solemn  protest  against 
and  a  renunciation  of  the  communion  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  South,  and  declared  their  adherence  to  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In  regard  to  the  division  of 
the  Church  in  1845,  and  other  questions,  they  say:  "This 
division  was  consummated  against  our  judgment,  in  the 
hope  that  peace  might  be  promoted  by  submission.  In  this 
hope  we  have  been  sorely  disappointed,  and  when  rebellion 
culminated  in  open  hostilities  we  had  the  mortification  to 
see,  not  only  in  the  seceded  States,  but  in  our  own  State, 
all  the  official  powers  and  authorities  of  our  Church,  with 
a  very  few  honorable  exceptions,  arrayed  against  the  Gov- 
ernment with  all  their  influence  and  power.  Many  of  the 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  433 

ministers  not  only  refused  to  utter  or  to  tolerate  the  utter- 
ance by  others  of  the  usual  prayers  for  the  authorities  and 
officers  of  the  Government,  but,  on  the  contrary,  openly  and 
publicly  prayed  for  the  success  of  traitors  in  arms  against  it; 
publicly  urged,  by  speeches  and  otherwise,  the  young  men 
of  the  country  to  commit  the  crime  of  treason  against  the 
Government;  urged  them  to  kill,  burn,  and  destroy — to 
" wade  to  their  knees  in  blood"  to  destroy  that  Government 
framed  by  Washington,  Adams,  Jefferson,  Franklin,  and 
their  compeers.  We  further  find  the  Conference  of  our 
Church  in  Missouri,  so  far  from  rebuking  this  conduct  in 
their  ministers,  pass  their  characters  unimpeached.  Not 
only  so,  but  we  find  our  own  Conference,  in  the  absence  of 
the  bishop,  elect  in  his  stead,  as  their  presiding  officer,  one 
of  the  most  able,  active,  and  efficient  of  these  preachers  of 
treason.  .  .  .  We  are  unwilling  to  be  made  to  bow  down 
and  worship  an  institution  as  a  divine  inheritance  which  had 
its  origin  in  a  cruelty  and  barbarity  without  a  parallel  in 
the  history  of  the  world  as  the  price  of  our  Church  rela- 
tions and  Christian  privileges. 

"We  hereby  declare  our  relations  as  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  forever  severed — sev- 
ered by  the  treasonable  acts  and  conduct  of  that  official 
body  which  should  have  been  the  guardian  of  our  rights 
and  of  the  purity  of  our  Church;  therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  we  hereby  recommend  to  the  members 
of  this  Church,  as  a  body,  to  apply  to  the  proper  authori- 
ties of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  connection  with 
that  ecclesiastical  organization." 

Eighty-five'  signatures  were  appended,  and  many  more 
were  added  afterward. 

A  brother  wrote  us  the  following: 

"  These  are  truly  trying  times.  I  live  in  what  was  called 
the  St.  Catherine  circuit,  but  we  have  been  by  some  means, 

37 


434  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

as  it  were,  left  out  in  the  cold.  St.  Catherine  lies  on  the 
Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  Railroad.  I  live  twenty  miles 
north-west  of  there.  Our  preachers  have  not  been  around 
on  this  circuit  for  two  or  three  years.  We  get  to  see  no 
Church  paper;  do  not  know  whether  the  Central  is  alive 
yet  or  not;  would  hardly  know  a  preacher  if  we  should  see 
one.  We  will  not  let  the  rebels  preach  under  the  flag. 
There  is  a  good  opening  here  to  form  a  lay  class,  if  we 
had  preaching.  If  the  Central  is  alive  yet,  and  if  there 
has  been  a  Conference  this  Spring,  will  you  send  me  a  copy 
of  the  paper  of  the  last  issue,  and  the  one  containing  the 
list  of  appointments  for  the  present  year?" 

July  4th  Rev.  W.  Hanley,  of  Hannibal  district,  infoVmed 
us  of  a  prosperity  in  his  district  hitherto  unknown.  The 
long  night  had  passed  away,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  light 
of  day.  Many  who  had.  regarded  our  ministers  and  mem- 
bers as  their  worst  enemies,  were  then  of  a  different  mind. 
He  had  visited  Louisiana,  the  third  Sabbath  in  June,  and 
received  the  loyal  Southern  Methodists  of  that  city  into  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  1784.  Here  he  met  Rev. 
H.  Cox,  of  Union  Church,  St.  Louis,  and  Rev.  J.  C.  Smith, 
presiding  elder  of  St.  Louis  district.  After  this  meeting, 
Bishop  Ames  appointed  Rev.  N.  Shumate  to  a  district  lying 
along  the  Mississippi  River,  and  between  the  Hannibal  and 
St.  Joseph  Railroad  and  the  Missouri  River,  including  the 
towns  on  its  south  bank,  except  Jefferson  City.  This  new 
field  was  called  the  Louisiana  district. 

In  the  Central  Christian  Advocate,  July  9,  1863,  we 
spoke  thus  :  "  Many  Churches  are  to  be  organized  in  the 
South-West  as  soon  as  possible.  And  we  assure  our  friends 
that  brother  Shumate  is  fully  prepared  to  do  the  work.  No 
man  is  more  peaceable  than  he ;  but  as  he  will  carry  with 
him  his  two  revolvers,  and  other  Gospel  accompaniments 
needful  for  teaching  bushwhackers,  we  expect  he  will  travel 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  435 

through  the  country  with  little  molestation.  We  advise 
him  to  '  say  his  prayers  and  keep  his  powder  dry.'  This 
is  a  fitting  Gospel  advice  for  him  in  Missouri,  and  we 
earnestly  utter  it  with  a  good  conscience." 

20.  In  July  it  was  announced  that  Bishop  Kavanaugh 
would  hold  three  Conferences  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  South,  in  the  Fall — one  in  Kansas,  one  in  North- 
ern Missouri,  and  the  St.  Louis  Conference.  The  Missouri 
Conference  was  to  be  held. at  Fulton,  Callaway  county.  It 
was  said  there  were  not  a  dozen  loyal  citizens  in  this  whole 
county.  No  place  was  fixed  for  the  St.  Louis  nor  for  the 
Kansas  Conference.  These  appointments  had  the  aspect  of 
renewing  the  rebel  raids  on  Missouri,  and  encouraging  a 
fresh  invasion.  The  Bishop  himself  was  the  representative 
of  a  rebel  Church,  and  acting  officially  for  it,  and  whatever 
his  private  views  were,  he  could  not  be  considered  as  a 
messenger  of  peace,  but  of  rebellion.  Kansas  viewed  the 
movement  on  her  territory  as  the  precursor  of  a  clandestine 
assault.  Such  an  assembly  did  not  differ  remotely  from  the 
Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle.  How  this  would  end,  it  was 
difficult  to  say ;  but  the  indications  were  any  thing  but 
promising  to  the  cause  of  the  Union  or  religion. 

The  Southern  General  Conference  was  to  meet  in  New 
Orleans,  November  1,  1862.  But  the  members,  conscious 
of  their  Confederate  complicity,  declined  to  meet.  All  the 
authorities  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  were 
on  the  side  of  rebellion.  Very  few  o£  her  two  hundred 
traveling  preachers  in  Missouri  made  any  pretensions  to 
loyalty.  Many  were  in  the  rebel  army,  many  were  in  the 
most  notoriously  rebel  communities,  some  led  guerrilla 
bands,  and  a  valiant  few  went  where  the  "darkies"  went 
before  the  war,  namely,  to  Canada.  These  last,  self-reputed 
nou-politic<il  saints,  have  since  returned  to  apologize  for  every 
enormity  perpetrated  by  traitors,  and  to  insult  to  its  face  the 


436  SOUTH-WESTEEJN  METHODISM." 

Government  they  dishonored  abroad  and  refused  to  obey  at 
home. 

21.  The  arrest  of  Rev.  T.  B.  Bratton,  presiding  elder  of 
St.  Joseph  district,  and  of  Mr.  Harbaugh,  the  editor  of  the 
Chillicothe  Constitution,  occurred  in  July.     Mr.  Harbaugh 
was  also  a  Methodist.     Mr.  Bratton's  services  in  the  Union 
cause  in  North-West  Missouri  were  very  considerable.     To 
raise  troops,  and  maintain  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  he 
spent  more  than  his  last  dollar.     His  principal  sin  was  that 
he   was   a   minister  of   the    Methodist    Episcopal    Church. 
After  arrest,  the  prisoners  were  told  to  shut  their  mouths, 
were  placed  under  a  heavy  guard,  and  denied  the  privilege 
of  communicating  with  their  friends,  either  by  mail  or  tele- 
graph.    On  Sunday,  July  12th,  while  Mr.  Bratton  was  sing- 
ing a  hymn,   he   was   abruptly    commanded   to   desist,  and 
after  Sabbath  both  prisoners  were  hurried  to  Macon   City, 
and  there  confined.     Among  many  other  things,  the  editor 
of  the  Copperhead  sheet  in  Chillicothe  said,  "  It  would  be 
better  the  gates  of  hell  were  opened  on  Missouri  than  that 
the  Northern  Methodists  should  occupy  the  State." 

22.  After  the  administration  of  General  Curtis  had  been 
suspended  by  the  President,  and  General  Schofield  put  in 
his  place,  Missouri  affairs  became  very  much  confused.     As 
we  had  sufficient  opportunity  to  know  the  state  of  public 
matters,  we  could  not  avoid  making  some  observations  on 
the  course  of  the   President.     August  5th  we  penned  the 
following : 

"It  was  then  a  sad  mistake  in  President  Lincoln  to  de- 
clare that  there  were  two  factions  in  Missouri — at  the  head 
of  one  was  Governor  Gamble,  and  at  the  head  of  the  other 
was  General  Curtis — and,  as  he  could  not  remove  the  Gov- 
ernor, he  must  remove  the  General.  Now,  it  is  an  utter 
mistake  to  say  that  Mr.  Curtis  was  at  the  head  of  a  faction, 
unless  it  is  factious  to  be  an  uncompromising  Union  man, 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  437 

and  it  is,  when  weighed,  an  unjust  charge  to  bring  against 
men  who  have,  from  the  first,  been  Union,  and,  in  Missouri, 
have  stemmed  the  tide  of  rebellion;  and  they  still  do  the 
same  thing  that  President  Lincoln  is  endeavoring  to  do  with 
the  aid  of  the  entire  army,  navy,  and  purse  of  the  United 
States.  If  Missouri  uncompromising  Union  men  are  to  con- 
stitute a  faction,  then  the  President  himself  is  the  sovereign 
head  of  that  faction,  and  not  General  Curtis,  or  any  other 
man  than  President  Lincoln  himself. 

"Another  remark.  It  is  certain  that,  while  we  award  loy- 
alty to  the  professions  of  Governor  Gamble — for  he  has  done 
many  noble  acts  as  Governor — yet  it  is  true  to  the  letter 
that  many  who  have  been  disloyal/ if  not  rebels,  and  now 
favor  the  rebel  cause,  belong  to  his  party,  or,  as  the  Presi- 
dent says,  his  faction.  To  his  party  belong  some  now  who 
have  been  in  the  rebel  army,  others  who  have  favored  seces- 
sion from  the  first,  and  deem  it  proper  to  oppose  uncondi- 
tional Union  men  with  all  their  might. 

"The  one  faction,  to  use  the  words  of  the  President,  are 
for  the  Union  and  the  President's  administration,  to  support 
it  with  their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their  honor,  yet  grieved 
on  account  of  any  errors  the  President  may  commit.  The 
other  faction,  as  the  President  calls  it,  is  made  up  of  pro- 
fessed loyal  men,  of  strong  pro-slavery  men,  of  men  who 
have  been  in  the  rebel  army,  and,  in  short,  of  leaders  who 
make  it  a  part  of  their  business  to  arrest  and  imprison 
Union  men,  and  set  disloyal  men  at  liberty,  even  when 
taken  as  bushwhackers. 

"Now,  let  us  look  at  the  results  of  this  administration 
of  affairs  in  Missouri: 

"The  other  day  a  preacher  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  Rev.  Mr.  Bratton,  was  arrested,  imprisoned,  and 
retained  in  prison  several  days,  just  because  he  was  a  Union 
man,  and  for  nothing  else;  but  when  his  case  was  brought 


438  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

before  General  Schofield  he  was  unconditionally  set  free,  no 
charges  being  sustained.  Mr.  Harbaugh,  an  editor  and  a 
lay  Methodist,  was  also  arrested  at  the  same  time,  treated 
in  the  same  way,  and  released  because  there  was  nothing  to 
be  proved  against  him. 

"The  captain  who  arrested  them  commanded  loyal  ladies 
to  fold  up  their  flag  and  not  exhibit  it,  because  they  pleaded 
to  learn  why  the  arrests  were  made.  Judge  M'Farren,  a 
leader  in  this,  on  another  occasion  ordered  the  United 
States  flag  to  be  taken  down  because  it  was  d-emanded  by 
rebels.  The  leading  secessionists  in  this  Chillicothe  occur- 
rence some  two  or  three  years  ago  rode  Rev.  Mr.  Gardner 
on  a  rail  because  he  was  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  and  for  nothing  else,  except  an  allegation 
known  to  be  false. 

"Since  these  events  several  Union  men  have  been  arrested, 
on  Mr.  Guitar's  district,  for  being  Union  men,  and  nothing 
else. 

"It  has  been,  till  recently,  a  crime,  in  the  view  of  the 
governing  powers  of  the  South-West,  to  be  a  member  or  a 
minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  or,  as  they  call 
it,  the  Northern  Methodist  Church.  The  party — call  it  fac- 
tion or  what  you  please — that  is  operating  with  Governor 
Gamble  has  renewed  this  prescriptive  judgment  and  prac- 
tice in  the  arrest  of  Mr.  Harbaugh  and  Rev.  Mr.  Bratton. 
Is  this  to  go  on  under  the  party  that  our  misled  President 
calls  a  faction  f  If  so,  it  is  time  this  was  known  to  the 
most  numerous  and  most  loyal  Church  in  the  United  States, 
which,  with  their  adherents,  number  several  millions  of  loyal 
citizens,  with  scarcely  a  disloyal  minister  or  layman  among 
them. 

"We  ask  President  Lincoln,  Are  the  many  thousand 
preachers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  be  ar- 
rested,- imprisoned,  and  tyrannized  over  by  such  upstart 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  439 

captains  as  he  of  Chillicothe,  and  put  and  kept  in  jail  for 
many  days,  because  they  are  loyal,  and  supporters  of  your 
administration  and  the  Union  which  you  maintain?  Is  this 
so,  Mr.  Lincoln?  If  so,  let  us  know,  it,  that  we  may  all, 
millions  of  loyalists  as  we  are,  EXPOSTULATE  with  you  for 
this  GREAT  ERROR  of  your  administration  before  we  take  up 
arms  to  defend  the  Union,  which,  by  this  ill-advised  course, 
you  would  deliver  up  to  Jeff.  Davis. 

"Many  such  questions  might  be  asked,  but  we  stop  just 
at  the  threshold  of  our  inquiries.  Some  false  representa- 
tions have  surely  misled  our  beloved  President  Lincoln. 
We  hope  he  will  review  this  affair  of  Missouri's  oppression, 
worse  in  its  results  than  the  attacks  of  our  expelled  rebel 
Governor,  Jackson. 

"  We  would  say  to  all,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  Missouri  or  elsewhere,  be  slow  to  believe  evil  of  the 
ruler  of  our  people.  Honest  Abe  is  our  lawful  ruler.  We 
must  support  him  to  the  last.  He  will  surely  relieve  Mis- 
souri from  this  ill-advised  course." 

An  editorial  in  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  Au- 
gust 13th,  one  week  later,  reads  thus: 

"  We  are  bound  by  the  Decalogue  to  speak  well  of  and 
support  the  ruler  of  our  people.  Hence,  we  support  the 
President  in  the  discharge  of  his  onerous  duties.  And  to 
notice  his  mistakes,  when  plainly  such,  and  dissent  from 
them  too,  is  one  branch  of  the  duty  of  supporting  him. 
Such  are  the  counsels  of  friends,  and  not  the  attacks  of 
enemies. 

"We  are  also  bound  to  submit  to  the  lawful  control  of 
the  Governor  of  the  State,  Mr.  Gamble,  and  to  observe  the 
laws  of  the  State  of  Missouri.  But  it  is  our  right,  on 
moral  principles,  to  disapprove  of  misgoverning  acts. 

"We  are  also  bound  to  submit  to  the  military  power  now 
exercised  over  us  in  Missouri.  And  while  we  deplored  the 


440  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

mistake  of  removing  General  Curtis,  our  allegiance  is  due 
to  his  successor,  General  Schofield,  for  whom  we  entertain 
a  high  opinion,  and  expect  from  him  a  salutary  administra- 
tion. He  checked  at  once  the  unjust  acts  under  General 
Guitar  in  arresting  and  imprisoning  loyal  men,  such  as  Mr. 
Bratton  and  Mr.  Harbaugh.  We  look  for  much  from  Gen- 
eral Schofield's  administration,  and  expect  it  will,  on  the 
whole,  be  salutary  and  entirely  safe. 

"There  are  also  some  great  principles  and  National  meas- 
ures which  we  feel  ourselves  bound  to  recognize  on  moral, 
patriotic,  and  Scriptural  principles ;  such  as  that  these 
United  States  form  one  Supreme  Government,  and  that  no 
one  State,  of  its  own  accord,  can  secede  from  the  Union; 
that  the  Union  should  be  maintained  at  any  cost,  and  the 
war  prosecuted  in  view  of  entirely  subjugating  the  rebellion; 
that  the  South,  without  cause,  commenced  this  war,  and 
were,  and  are  now,  the  aggressors;  that  the  Confiscation  law 
of  Congress,  confiscating  the  property  of  all  rebels,  and 
that  the  Proclamation  of  the  President,  authorized  by  this 
law,  is  a  just  retribution,  and  in  accordance  with  the  laws 
of  all  nations,  which  authorize  the  forfeiture  of  the  property 
of  rebels,  as  slaves  are  property.  Arming  the  negroes,  too, 
is  sound  policy;  it  is  just  and  National,  and  the  protection 
of  negro  soldiers  can  not  be  called  in  question.  The  resist- 
ance to  the  Conscription  law  is  wrong,  and  those  who  re- 
sist it,  oppose,  or  discourage  it,  are  more  than  disloyal,  as 
they  are  hostile  to  the  Government.  Finally,  to  be  neutral, 
or  so  concealed  in  using  words  and  acts  as  to  give  no  public 
assurance  of  our  loyalty,  is  to  be  in  opposition  to  the  Gov- 
ernment. These  points,  to  our  mind,  are  very  plain,  and  it  is 
only  necessary  to  state  them.  With  this  we  are  content, 
without  further  explanation." 

When  the  news  of  the  arrest  of   Messrs.  Bratton,  Har- 
baugh, and  others  reached  us  in  St.  Louis,  a  meeting  of  the 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  441 

male  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was 
called,  and  held  in  Union  Church,  to  deliberate  what  was 
best  to  be  done  for  preserving  our  rights  as  citizens  and 
religious  men.  The  aspects  of  things  threatened  a  new 
persecution  in  Missouri  against  our  lives,  our  liberties,  our 
honor,  and  religious  privileges.  For  if  things  went  on  so, 
the  Central  Christian  Advocate  must  soon  be  suppressed, 
our  churches  confiscated,  and  nothing  be  left  us  but  to 
escape  for  our  lives  to  other  States.  A  very  pointed  address 
was  drawn  up  to  all  Methodists  and  loyal  citizens  of  the 
United  States;  but  it  was  judged  prudent  to  send,  next  day, 
a  deputation  to  Mr.  Schofield,  then  in  the  city,  to  secure 
to  us  the  rights  of  citizens.  The  committee  consisted  of 
Generals  Fisk  and  Pile,  and  Rev.  H.  Cox.  The  matter 
was  fully  laid  before  Mr.  Schofield  next  day,  who  at  once 
set  at  liberty  the  prisoners  on  the  mere  representation  of 
the  committee. 

Hear  a  little  episode  in  this  connection.  A  committee, 
consisting  of  Bishop  Ames,  Drs.  Peck,  Cummings,  Colonel 
Moody,  and  myself,  was  sent,  during  the  session  of  our 
General  Conference,  in  May,  to  Washington,  to  express  the 
high  esteem  the  Conference  entertained  of  the  President's 
administration,  and  to  assure  him  of  the  loyalty  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  After  all  had  been  intro- 
duced7  our  address  presented  and  read,  and  every  thing  dis- 
posed of  according  to  the  usual  diplomacy,  the  President 
and  the  Committee  being  in  the  most  pleasant  mood,  I 
undertook,  as  an  incidental  matter,  to  remark  about  as 
follows : 

That  we,  in  Missouri,  felt  aggrieved  that  some  of  our 
preachers  and  people  should  be  imprisoned,  as  a  principal 
charge,  because  we  belonged  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and,  next,  because  we  were  uncompromisingly 
Ujaion ;  that  we  were  unwavering  supporters  of  his  general 


442  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

administration,  had  voted  for  him,  and  intended  to  vote  for 
him  again — we  thought  it  hard  to  be  put  in  jail  for  these 
reasons;  that  our  oppressors  were  generally  disloyal  men, 
opposed  to  the  Union  and  his  administration.  And  now, 
we  said,  we  trust  this  case  will  not  occur  again.  The 
President  heard  our  brief  statement  courteously,  and  all 
passed  off  pleasantly  and  with  great  cordiality. 

23.  Political  movements  in  the  State  were  all  astir  now, 
the  old  pro-slavery  party  striving  to  preserve  its  fast-declin- 
ing influence,  while  the  Radicals,  as  they  were  called,  were 
sharply  using  every  advantage  to  carry  their  purposes.  In 
Colonel  Guitar's  district,  where  Mr.  Bratton  was  arrested, 
there  was  much  activity  among  loyalists.  At  St.  Joseph 
the  Conservatives  were  worsted.  At  Palmyra,  where  a 
meeting  of  Conservatives  was  called,  the  Radicals  rushed  in, 
in  crowds,  and  passed  Radical  resolutions.  Mr.  Henderson, 
who  was  there,  took  a  new  turn,  and  called  his  former 
political  friend,  Governor  Gamble,  by  an  ugly  name.  In 
the  Senate,  Mr.  Henderson  introduced  a  bill  to  pay  the 
slaveholders  of  Missouri  twenty  millions  for  their  slaves. 
This  killed  the  House  bill,  granting  ten  millions,  finally 
failed  itself,  and  Missouri  got  nothing,  while  the  Convention 
of  1865,  almost  with  one  voice,  proclaimed  emancipation. 
Mr.  Schofield  very  handsomely  snubbed  Mr.  Guitar  and  his 
subservient  Captain,  at  once  setting  Bratton  and  Harbaugh 
at  liberty,  thus  apologizing  in  the  most  satisfactory  manner 
for  their  unjust  arrest. 

The  south-eastern  part  of  the  State,  under  the  charge 
of  General  Fisk,  appointed  by  General  Curtis,  and  contin- 
ued by  General  Schofield,  was  pretty  well  pacified.  This 
was  to  be  expected  from  General  Fisk's  energy,  his  un- 
swerving Unionism,  now  and  always,  as  well  as  his  high 
moral  and  religious  character. 

West  of  Jefferson  City  the  returned  rebels  were  at  work, 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  443 

recruited,  encouraged,  and  reenforced  by  their  friends  in  the 
middle  of  the  State,  and  in  Guitar's  command. 

We  can  but  respect  General  Schofield  as  a  very  worthy 
man.  But  the  ruling  power  in  Missouri  at  that  time  tram- 
meled him.  His  associations  throw  a  sort  of  bewildering 
influence  over  him,  and  former  commitments  from  specious 
connections  presented  stumbling  blocks  in  his  way. 

24.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  quite  prosper- 
ous in  August,  although  much  of  the  State  could  not  be 
occupied  by  our  ministry.  A  few  notes  on  some  places  will 
illustrate  the  whole. 

In  St.  Louis  our  cause  was  rapidly  advancing  under  the 
untiring  pastoral  labors  of  Rev.  Henry  Cox  and  Rev.  L.  M. 
Vernon.  Almost  daily  additions  were  made  to  our  mem- 
bership, and  there  was  a  constant  growth  in  moral  power 
and  social  influence.  Our  pastors  were  courteously  recog- 
nized by  other  city  ministers,  pulpits  were  exchanged,  and 
we  found  openings  for  usefulness  and  indications  of  encour- 
agement on  every  hand. 

The  loyal  Southern  Methodists,  of  Jones'  Chapel,  almost 
all  united  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and 
equally  repudiated  rebellion  and  the  disloyal  Church  South. 
"  Constitutional  Union  men,"  became  a  phrase  to  designate 
secessionists  or  rebels. 

Mr.  E.  G.  Evans,  of  Rolla,  informs  us  that  "  the  enemies 
of  the  Union  are  also  the  enemies  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  because  antislaveryism  and  loyalty  now  go 
hand  in  hand,  as  well  as  pro-slaveryism  and  treason ;  that 
loyal  people  every-where  sympathized  with  the  persecuted 
Methodists." 

Elder  Shumate  had  formed  the  following  new  charges, 
namely  :  Bowling  Green,  Danville,  Mexico  and  Middletown, 
and  Kansas  City.  Four  brethren  from  the  Church  South, 
truly  loyal  men,  entered  on  these  charges  as  ministers  in 


444  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Clarksville,  also,  was 
occupied  in  connection  with  Louisiana. 

Rev.  Isaac  Martin,  Edina  circuit,  received  forty-eight  into 
Church  fellowship,  of  whom  thirty-four  were  from  the  South- 
ern Methodist  Church. 

Rev.  W.  S.  Wentz,  of  St.  Joseph  district,  wrote:  "Two 
weeks  ago  I  had  the  privilege  of  preaching  at  a  meeting- 
house in  Platte  county,  called  Moore's  Chapel.  Two  years 
since  a  pro-slavery  mob  broke  up  the  house  and  so  scattered 
the  flock,  that  many  thought  our  cause  lost  in  that  part 
of  the  country."  Referring  to  emigrants,  he  said,  "Let 
none  but  Union  men  come,  as  the  people  up  here  are  in 
earnest  in  their  devotion  to  the  Union,  and  will  smoke  out 
every  traitor.  I  have  never  known  a  government  so  heartily 
despised  as  the  Gamble,  Henderson,  and  Hall  provisional 
government,  so-called.  Deacon  Gamble  made  a  grand  mis- 
take when  he  concluded  to  sacrifice  his  domestic  happiness 
in  order  to  secure  peace;  that  is,  to  conserve  the  institution 
of  slavery." 

As  much  controversy  had  existed  between  the  Church 
South  and  our  Church,  and  as  Providence  seemed  plainly 
pleading  our  cause,  we  wrote  in  August  the  following  par- 
agraph by  way  of  caution :  "  Let  the  Southern  Methodist 
Church  alone.  The  day  of  controversial  warfare  is  over. 
Let  them  reconstruct  their  Church  in  their  own  way,  as  far 
as  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  concerned.  And  as 
we  hold  out  our  hands  to  all  loyal  Methodists  who  see 
proper  to  unite  with  us,  let  us  not  afilict  them  by  the  rem- 
iniscence of  the  past.  It  is  mortifying  enough  to  them  that 
their  preachers  have  misled  them,  and  that  their  preachers 
have  been  deceived  by  Southern  politicians.  These  afflic- 
tions are  enough.  Let  us  not  spend  our  time  in  a  warfare 
with  those  who  see  fit  to  remain  in  the  Southern  Church. 
Let  them,  as  far  as  we  are  concerned,  pursue  their  own  way." 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  445 

Rev.  N.  Shumate,  in  a  letter  to  us  about  the  same  time, 
drops  the  following  paragraph  :  "  Let  us  leave  the  Church 
South  to  manage  her  own  troubles,  and  content  ourselves  with 
doing  our  duty  to  God  and  the  country,  and  we  have  no  fears 
as  to  what  will  become  of  the  loyal  element  of  the  State." 

25.  In  September  two  new  political  parties  were  forming. 
After  the  removal  of  General  Curtis,  the  peace  of  Missouri 
was  greatly  disturbed.  One  party  embraced  the  uncompro- 
mising Union  men,  or  Radicals;  the  other  consisted  of  the 
Conservatives,  the  opponents  of  President  Lincoln  at  his 
election,  pro-slavery  men,  returned  rebels,  and  others. 

The  latter  succeeded  in  removing  Generals  Loan,  Blunt, 
and  others  who  acted  with  General  Curtis. 

The  Radicals,  for  the  most  part,  were  laboring  for  the 
majority  on  moral  principles,  adopted  from  the  first.  The 
Conservatives  were  endeavoring  to  overthrow  the  Confisca- 
tion bill,  the  President's  Emancipation  Proclamation,  the 
arming  of  negroes,  etc. 

Such  were  the  leading  characteristics  of  the  parties  in 
process  of  formation  in  Missouri. 

The  state  of  religion  at  this  time  was  greatly  affected  for 
good  or  evil  by  the  absence  or  presence  of  bushwhackers. 
They  principally  controlled  the  Missouri  above  Jefferson 
City,  and  the  region  south  along  the  Kansas  line  to  Arkan- 
sas. Dr.  Denby,  a  local  preacher,  however,  formed  a  society 
in  Dade  county,  and  was  preaching  to  the  people  as  best  he 
could  amid  the  general  peril.  But  almost  all  the  southern 
part  of  the  State  was  destitute  of  our  preachers,  and,  in- 
deed, of  ministers  of  any  Church;  yet  Rev.  J.  H.  Vaughan 
was  laboring  on  Buffalo  Mission,  and  received  seventy-four 
members,  mostly  from  the  Southern  Methodist  Church. 

A  Southern  Methodist,  from  Plattsburg,  Clinton  county, 
Mo.,  writing  to  us  September  24th,  says :  "  The  Union 
ministers  do  not  think  it  incompatible  with  religion  to  pray 


446  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

for  the  Government,  but  the  Southern  preachers  are  dumb 
on  this  subject." 

26.  In  October,  Missouri  State  affairs  became  very  precari- 
ous. The  two  parties,  Radical  and  Conservative,  were  now 
formally  organized.  The  latter  was  largely  managed  by  Mr. 
Bates,  Montgomery  Blair,  Frank  P.  Blair,  Mr.  Henderson, 
Ex-Governor  King,  and  a  few  others,  who  procured  the  re- 
moval of  General  Curtis.  After  that  event  the  Conserva- 
tives seemed  to  be  Lincoln  men  in  a  certain  sense.  It  was 
soon  manifest  that  among  the  consequences  of  removing 
Curtis  were,  the  burning  of  Lawrence,  the  imprisonment  of 
loyal  men,  the  disturbance  of  the  State,  and  such  encour- 
agement to  rebels  as  seriously  damaged  the  cause  of  the 
Union. 

The  Radical  party  sent  a  deputation  to  Washington  to 
expostulate  with  the  President  on  this  state  of  affairs.  In 
their  address  they  stated  they  had  "a  unanimous  and  con- 
fiding faith  in  his  patriotism,  generosity,  and  integrity,  and 
his  readiness  to  do  right  whenever  he  was  fully  advised 
concerning  the  affairs  of  the  State."  The  final  result  was, 
the  President  sent  an  order  to  General  Schofield  that  "  no 
person  who  had  borne  arms  against  the  United  States,  or 
had  given  aid  and  comfort  to  its  enemies,  was  qualified  to 
vote,  or  be  judge  of  elections."  This  was  really  a  death- 
blow to  the  Conservative  party  in  Missouri,  as  it  largely 
consisted  of  those  who  were  disfranchised  by  this  order, 
those  willing  to  use  all  kinds  of  disloyalists  for  party  ends, 
and  those  now  Union  men  through  mere  policy. 

At  this  time  Union  men  were  very  much  harassed,  in 
many  places,  in  various  ways,  as  if  it  were  a  crime  to  be 
unflinching  supporters  of  the  National  Government,  and  to 
avow  their  adherence  to  President  Lincoln's  Administration. 
Governor  Gamble,  at  this  time,  seems  to  have  forgotten  his 
proper  place  when  he  called  Union  men  conspirators,  or,  in 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  447 

other  words,  TRAITORS,  and  this  he  did  as  Governor  in  one 
of  his  messages. 

Rebel  raids  now  reached  several  places  occupied  by  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  preventing  their  occupancy  as 
formerly,  while  the  regions  not  visited  by  our  ministry  were 
almost  entirely  in  possession  of  the  disloyal  party.  Our 
case  may  be  stated  thus  :  Just  in  proportion  as  the  Con- 
servatives gained  ascendency,  our  Church  was  depressed  and 
hindered  in  its  proper  work,  and  vice  versa.  The  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  was  so  identified  with  the  National  Gov- 
ernment that  it  must,  in  the  South-West,  rise  or  fall  with  it. 

The  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  South  was  to  be  held,  November  1,  18G2,  in  New 
Orleans,  anticipating  this  city  would  then  be  in  possession 
of  the  rebels.  But  the  city  was  taken  by  the  loyal  army, 
and  the  contemplated  session,  for  some  reason,  failed.  The 
Southern  Methodist  Missouri  Conference  met  at  Glasgow  in 
the  Fall  of  1861,  under  the  protection  of  the  rebel,  Martin 
Green,  to  whom  the  Conference  paid  its  respects.  But 
when  the  Federals  reached  that  place,  Green  made  his 
escape,  and  the  Conference  dispersed. 

The  Southern  Christian  Advocate,  of  July  23,  1863, 
informed  us  that  Bishop  Paine  had  appointed  Rev.  Dr. 
Kavanaugh,  brother  to  Bishop  K.,  as  missionary  to  Price's 
army,  and  Rev.  E.  M.  Marvin,  missionary  to  any  rebel  army 
west  of  the  Mississippi.  Mr.  Marvin  was  pastor  of  Cente- 
nary Church,  St.  Louis,  previous  to  the  Spring  of  1862,  Dr. 
Boyle  being  presiding  elder.  Mr.  M.  was  a  delegate  to  the 
General  Conference  that  was  to  meet  in  New  Orleans,  No- 
vember 1,  1862.  .  He  declined  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance 
in  St.  Louis,  and  could  not  get  a  pass  to  leave  the  city. 
Prior  to  April,  however,  he  escaped  clandestinely,  without  a 
pass,  and  proceeded  to  Jackson,  Mississippi.  Before  July, 
1863,  Dr.  Kavanaugh  and  Mr.  Marvin  were  sent  mission- 


448  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

aries  to  the  rebel  army  in  Missouri.  These  appointments 
were  ominous,  and  one  can  not  avoid  considering  them  as 
coincident  with  the  rebel  movements  in  the  South-West. 
The  Southern  Bishops  sent  out  or  recalled  their  rebel 
preachers  in  the  South-West,  according  to  the  varying  for- 
tunes and  movements  of  Price's  army. 

Mr.  Marvin's  rebel  notoriety,  in  their  last  General  Con- 
ference, promoted  him  to  the  Episcopacy  in  preference  to 
men  of  far  greater  intellectual  and  moral  worth.  Surviving 
his  "  lost  cause,"  because  traitors  are  not  hung,  Bishop 
Marvin  is  evidently  determined  that  the  embers  of  rebel 
prejudice,  passion,  and  hate  shall  burn  as  long  as  possible. 
His  Episcopal  labors  and  residence  in  Missouri  augur  little 
good  to  the  growing  spirit  of  National  patriotism,  or  to  our 
free  institutions  and  civilization. 

The  resolutions  and  pastoral  address  of  the  Missouri  Con- 
ference, Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  October  20th, 
at  Fulton,  Mo.,  were  published  in  the  Missouri  Republican, 
October  23,  1863.  In  their  resolutions  they  assert  their 
Church,  in  its  organization,  claimed  the  world  for  its  field. 
They  talk  of  submission  to  the  powers  that  be,  and  quote 
Rom.  xiii,  1-8,  and,  also,  the  Twenty-Third  Article  of  Re- 
ligion as  binding.  The  Pastoral  Address,  a  studied  evasion 
of  the  case  in  hand,  is  followed  by  the  appointments,  and 
Rev.  Wm.  G.  Caples,  Price's  former'  chaplain,  is  placed 
at  Glasgow.  The  whole  taken  together  is  a  mere  shift  to 
evade,  as  best  they  can,  their 'proper  character  as  devotees 
to  rebellion.1 

27.  The  rest  of  the  year,  November  and  December,  1863, 
was  a  period  of  gradual  advancement  in  -both  Church  and 
State.  It  was  a  kind  of  truce  between  the  discordant  ele- 
ments and  the  growing  movement  in  the  right  direction. 

In  politics,  the  Radicals  became  victorious  over  opposing 

i  Central  Christian  Advocate,  October  29, 1863. 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  449 

combinations,  supported  by  the  President,  misguided  by  the 
advisements  of  Mr.  Bates  and  the  Blairs.  In  Missouri,  the 
influence  of  the  National  Government  was,  for  some  time, 
very  soothing,  and  even  auxiliary  to  rebels  and  sympa- 
thizers. Faithful  men  were  thus  tried  to  the  utmost.  Re- 
garding the  President  as  greatly  mistaken,  they  also  believed 
he  would  soon  clearly  perceive  his  error. 

After  July,  many  advances  were  made  on  the  side  of 
liberty.  The  Chattanooga  region  was  cleared  out.  East 
Tennessee  was  relieved  from  rebels.  The  Mississippi  was 
opened.  Over  100,000  able-bodied  negroes,  Americans  by 
birth,  were  in  the  army  of  the  Union  ;  while  100,000  more 
were  on  the  way  to  join  them.  All  this  without  insurrec- 
tions. Among  anomalies,  we  find  the  Missouri  Conserva- 
tives in  Congress  going  against  the  President,  who  patron- 
ized them  so  fully ;  while  the  Radicals  of  the  State  sup- 
ported him,  although  he  displaced  them  from  the  State 
offices.  Our  armies  and  navies  increased  to  adequate  power, 
our  finances  were  equal  to  our  wants,  and  there  is  gold 
enough  in  our  own  territory  to  redeem  the  greenbacks  as 
soon  as  necessary. 

This  is  the  work  of  God.  Our  nation  has  received  the 
just  stripes  due  to  the  sins  of  robbing  and  oppressing  a  weak 
and  innocent  people.  Old  Virginia,  Georgia,  South  Caro- 
lina, and  North  Carolina  have  been  providentially  chastised, 
instructed,  and  subdued  by  the  two  great  armies  operating 
in  those  regions.  We  here  quote  the  acclamations  of  the 
elders  in  heaven,  as  suitable  to  this  great  work  on  earth : 
"We  give  thee  thanks,  0  Lord  God  Almighty,  which  art, 
and  wast,  aud  art  to  come;  because  thou  hast  taken  to  thee 
thy  great  power,  and  hast  reigned."  Rev.  xi,  17. 

28.  The  retrospect  at  the  close  of  1863  suggested  the 
following  reflections : 

"  The  year  1863  has  been  an  auspicious  year  for  the 
38 


450  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

United  States.  The  absurd  teachings  of  politicians  are 
being  thrown  to  the  winds.  The  preachers  who  followed 
them  are  ^being  confounded  with  their  errors  and  their  syco- 
phancy. The  Almighty  is  carrying  on  this  great  work  of 
giving  victory  to  truth  and  justice.  So  that  these  two  will 
in  the  end  dominate  over  error  and  wrong. 

"  We  see  in  this  stupendous  movement  the  repetition,  or 
rather  the  continuance,  of  the  jubilee  instituted  in  the  books 
of  Moses.  The  bond  service  of  the  Jews  was  so  restricted 
by  the  Almighty  as  to  prevent  its  running  into  slavery. 
The  periods  of  this  service,  from  five  years  up  to  the  year 
of  jubilee,  were  all,  without  exception,  to  be  terminated  by 
the  jubilee.  The  following  is  its  instituted  law:  'And  ye 
shall  hallow  the  fiftieth  year,  and  proclaim  liberty  through- 
out all  the  land  unto  all  the  inhabitants  thereof;  it  shall 
be  a  jubilee  unto  thee.'  Lev.  xxv,  10.  This  is  reiterated — 
Isa.  Ixi,  2,  and  Ixiii,  4  j  Jer.  xxxiv,  8,  15,  17,  and  Luke  iv, 
19.  This  law  was  instituted  1491  years  before  Christ. 

"Isaiah,  698  years  before  Christ,  repeated  the  jubilee  of 
Moses,  and  prophesied  that  Christ  would  carry  it  out.  It  is 
said  of  Christ  that  God  'sent  him  to  bind  up  the  broken- 
hearted ;  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the  open- 
ing the  prison  to  them  that  are  bound;  to  proclaim  the 
acceptable  year  of  our  Lord,  and  the  day  of  vengeance  of 
our  God.'  Isa.  Ixi,  1,  2. 

"  Jeremiah  repeats  the  jubilee  law  as  in  full  force  591 
years  before  Christ,  '  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  people  ' — 
Jer.  xxxiv,  8 — and  he  pronounces  the  following  malediction 
for  disobeying  this  law,  as  follows :  '  Ye  have  not  heark- 
ened unto  me  in  proclaiming  liberty,  every  man  to  his 
brother,  and  every  man  to  his  neighbor ;  behold,  I  proclaim 
liberty  to  you,  saith  the  Lord,  to  the  sword,  to  the  pesti- 
lence, to  the  famine.'  Jer.  xxxiv,  17. 

"  Our  blessed  Savior,  in  opening  his  mission,  makes  the 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  451 

proclamation  that,  along  with  spiritual  blessing,  to  all  he 
has  come  to  preach  l  deliverance  to  the  captives,  and  to  set 
at  liberty  them  that  are  bruised,  to  preach  the  acceptable 
year  of  the  Lord.'  Luke  iv,  19,  20. 

"And  now,  in  the  year  of  grace  1863,  we  have  thirty  free 
States  and  five  slave  States,  and  their  jubilee  celebration  is 
not  far  distant. 

"Even  the  Popish  nations  are  partially  turning  their  at- 
tention to  the  teachings  of  Protestants  and  of  Scripture, 
and  leaning  toward  liberty,  in  a  sort  of  defiance  of  the 
Papal  bulls  that  tolerated  it;  and  even  Catholics  in  America 
are  now,  inconsistently  enough  we  allow,  claiming  that  these 
semi-pro-slavery  bulls  are  genuine,  unadulterated  antislav- 
ery  anathemas. 

"We  would  now  say  to  the  members  of  our  Church,  let 
us  all  praise  God  for  his  deliverance.  Although  there  is 
much  in  the  past  to  make  us  blush  as  a  people,  yet  God  has 
enabled  us,  in  some  degree,  up  to  this  day,  to  maintain  the 
principles  of  1780  and  1784.  Our  Church  preferred  purity 
to  unity  in  not  making  concessions,  in  1844,  to  our  erring 
brethren  of  the  South.  We  have  been  providentially  saved 
from  the  adoption  of  the  various  new  rules  that  would  viti- 
ate our  original  principles.  We  shall  have,  in  1864,  the 
very  platform  adopted  in  1784,  of  eighty  years'  continuance. 
Our  protest  remained,  all  along,  against  the  civil  legislation 
which  prevented  us,  as  well  as  the  Quakers,  from  carrying 
out  our  principles  of  moral  right.  Our  Church  has  resisted, 
all  along,  the  Garrisonian  scheme,  which,  in  brief,  may  be 
thus  expressed:  1.  It  was  an  infidel  scheme.  2.  It  purposed 
to  make  the  Church  a  tool  to  carry  out  mere  political  action. 
3.  It  was  a  disunion  scheme.  Our  principles  were  stronger 
against  slavery  than  those  of  the  Garrisonians.  Our  Church 
suffered,  we  allow,  in  refusing  the  teaching  of  the  extremes. 
The  result  was,  a  secession  in  the  South,  and  another  in  the 


452  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

North.  But,  thank  God,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is 
now  a  unit  as  to  slavery  and  the  Union. 

"The  slavery  contest,  blessed  be  God,  is  now  terminated; 
our  periodicals  will  need  to  say  but  little  about  it.  Our 
great  work  is  to  spread  Scriptural  holiness  over  these  lands. 
Angels  might  covet  to  engage  in  it.  Let  us  all  remember 
our  Christian  vocation  as  Methodists  and  Christians. 

"As  editor,  being  now  relieved  from  this  slavery  discus- 
sion, we  purpose  to  commence  the  next  volume  without  the 
controversial  troubles  of  the  heretofore  knotty  question  of 


29.  On  looking  forward  to  the  future,  the  following  his- 
torical observations  were  presented,  at  the  close  of  1863: 

"  1863 — THE  YEAR  OF  JUBILEE. — One  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-four years  ago,  or  in  1739,  John  Wesley,  on  his  return 
from  America  to  London,  reported  to  the  London  Board, 
whose  missionary  he  was,  a  plan  of  Christianizing  the  ne- 
groes, namely:  To  purchase  a  number  of  them,  keep  them, 
as  slaves,  on  a  farm,  in  view  of  their  Christian  instruction, 
and  finally  free  them.  Mr.  Whitefield  pursued  the  same 
plan  in  South  Carolina  or  Georgia,  we  forget  which.  Sev- 
eral gentlemen  in  the  West  Indies,  in  after  years,  did  the 
same.  But  all  this  amounted  to  nothing.  Mr.  Wesley, 
in  his  correspondence  with  the  distinguished  Presbyterian 
preacher  of  Virginia,  Rev.  Samuel  Davies,  from  1755  to 
1757,  made  no  mention  of  the  state  of  the  colored  peo- 
ple, as  slaves,  but  they  both  agreed  in  the  great  work 
of  evangelizing  them  as  ignorant  and  degraded  human  be- 
ings. When  Mr.  Gilbert,  from  Antigua,  Speaker  of  the 
Legislature  of  that  island,  and  his  two  slave  women  were 
converted,  in  1*758,  through  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Wesley, 
nothing  was  said  or  done  by  him  in  regard  to  their  state  as 
slaves,  but  barely  as  ignorant  and  degraded  human  beings, 
similar  to  the  free  colliers  around  Kingswood.  Thus,  up  to 


EVENTS  OF  1863.  453 

1772,  Mr.  "Wesley  seems  to  have  spent  no  thoughts  about 
the  negroes  as  slaves,  but  as  ignorant  and  needy  sinners, 
like  his  colliers  in  England. 

"But,  in  1772,  Mr.  Wesley  read  the  book  of  Anthony 
Benezet,  a  Hollander  by  birth,  but  a  long  time  an  inhabit- 
ant of  Philadelphia,  and  a  Quaker,  or  Friend.  On  reading 
this  book,  a  copy  of  which  we  possess,  Mr.  Wesley  saw  the 
enormity  of  slavery  proper  for  the  first  time,  and  pronounced 
it  the  'sum  of  all  villainies.'  In  1774  he  wrote  and  pub- 
lished his  powerful  essay  against  slavery,  and  sowed  it 
broadcast  over  Great  Britain  and  America.  The  rising 
Methodist  societies  in  America  caught  up  at  once  the 
strong  doctrine  from  Mr.  Wesley's  tract,  and  in  1780  the 
Baltimore  Conference,  and  in  1784  the  General  Conference, 
decided  what,  in  substance,  we  may  express  as  follows: 
That  slavery  was  contrary  to  natural  law,  to  the  Divine  law, 
and  to  justice.  And  subsequently  it 'became  the  settled 
principle  and  Discipline  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  remains  so  to  this  day,  that  thete  should  be  no  pur- 
chase or  sale  of  human  beings  allowed,  except  to  free  them, 
and  emancipation  was  required  in  all  cases  of  inheriting 
slaves,  if  the  laws  permitted  this  to  be  done.  But  the 
Southern  States  forbade  emancipation,  and  thus  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  was  hemmed  in  in  exercising  this 
moral  Discipline,  and  had  to  content  itself  in  ameliorating 
the  condition  of  the  slaves  as  best  it  could,  and  could  only 
protest  against  the  injustice  of  the  laws,  although  the  Church 
felt  it  to  be  its  duty  not  to  resist  the  laws  against  which 
they  protested;  and  the  principles  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  were  formed  and  adopted  while  the  thirteen 
original  States  were  all  slave  States. 

"In  1776  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
borrowed  from  the  old  Roman  law  and  from  Scripture  the 
great  moral  truth  that  all  men  are  born  free,  and  their 


454  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

natural  inherent  rights  entitle  them  to  life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness.  The  result  that  followed  this  asser- 
tion and  the  Wesleyan  teaching  was,  that  before  twenty 
years  elapsed,  or  before  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
seven,  out  of  the  thirteen  slave  States  that  composed  the 
United  States,  became  free  States,  some  of  them  by  imme- 
diate and  others  by  gradual  emancipation.  And  some  of 
these  seven  were  made  free  by  judicial  decisions,  and  others 
by  legislative  enactments.  Thus  the  work  of  freedom  had 
been  progressing  till  the  31st  day  of  December,  1862,  so  that 
on  January  1,  1863,  thirty  out  of  the  thirty-five  States  of 
the  Union  became  emancipated,  and  there  are  no  slaves  in 
them.  Nearly  four  millions  of  freedmen  have  been  meta- 
morphosed out  of  four  millions  of  slaves. 

"And  now  the  Church  is  freed  from  the  impediment  with 
which  the  civil  power  bound  her,  so  that  she  can  exercise 
that  stringent  discipline  which  the  Bible  and  the  Church 
demanded,  the  slave  laws  sinking  with  the  system  which 
gave  them  their  binding  nature. 

"While  we  thus  see  the  power  of  truth  and  justice  in 
Church  and  State,  we  can  also  see  the  influence  of  error." 


EVENTS  OF  1864.  455 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

EVENTS   OF    1864. 

1.  BEFORE  we  survey  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  South-West,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1864,  a  few 
preliminary  items  will  be  in  place. 

In  January,  Rev.  S.  Ing,  of  Otterville  circuit,  gathered 
up  the  fragments  of  our  Church  to  the  number  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  or  forty.  He  also  took  into  his  Church 
about  one  hundred  Southern  Methodists,  comprising  all  that 
were  loyal  among  them  in  that  locality. 

The  collected  remnants  of  Simpson  and  Hedding  Chapels, 
St.  Louis,  numbered  only  thirty-three  at  the  Conference  of 
1862;  but  now  there  were  one  hundred  and  forty-nine  mem- 
bers at  the  former  charge.  In  Ebenezer,  previous  to  March, 
1862,  the  number  was  reduced  to  fifty-two.  In  January, 
1864,  there  were  four  hundred  and  eleven  members  in 
Union  Church. 

The  pressure  on  our  Church  was  still  very  great.  In  the 
Southern  and  South-Western  parts  of  the  State  we  had  no 
regular  Church  organizations  at  the  commencement  of  1864. 
We  had  then  only  a  few  fragments  of  a  small  previous 
remnant.  Our  people,  however,  had  their  principles,  and  had 
good  hope  of  no  more  being  driven  from  the  country  as  in 
former  days.  No  tinge  of  pro-slaveryism  or  disloyalty 
adhered  to  them.  They  were,  therefore,  of  goo4  courage 
and  trusted  in  God. 

We  here  present  the  statistics  of  the  Missouri  Conference 


456  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 


from  1848 
during  the 

A.  D. 

1848... 

to  1864  inclusive,  adding  those 
years  of  their  combination: 

Members. 

....1,538 

of  the 

Traveling 
Preachers. 

26 

Arkansas 

Local 

Preachers. 

24 

1849.  . 

3,591 

41 

61 

1850 

5  249 

51 

86 

1851 

5  528 

63 

80 

1852  .. 

5,742 

68 

69 

1853  .. 

6,276 

82 

93 

1854 

7,472 

75 

107 

1855 

8,190 

79 

114 

1856 

6  602 

60 

82 

1857... 

6,431 

38 

91 

1858... 

7,532 

85 

121 

1859   . 

8,341 

85 

121 

1860 

7,764 

85 

103 

1861 

6,245 

72 

117 

1862... 

2,141 

32 

39 

1863 

4,387 

37 

66 

1864... 

....7,697 

57 

130 

The  foregoing  is  an  accurate  statistical  survey  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas  from 
1849  to  1864  inclusive.  The  number  of  preachers  and 
members  in  1848  was  the  mere  fragment  that  survived  the 
secession  of  1845,  at  which  time  the  body  of  Methodists  in 
these  States  were  decoyed  into  the  Methodist'  Episcopal 
Church  South. 

The  irregular  labors  of  Rev.  Messrs.  Henry,  Bewley,  Dr. 
Akers,  and  others,  from  1844  to  1848,  preserved  to  us  in 
the  South-West  1,538  lay  members,  26  traveling  preachers, 
and  24  local  preachers  ;  and  this  number,  though  small,  was 
the  seed  of  the  purified  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

From  1849  to  1855  inclusive,  a  period  of  seven  years, 
there  was  a  moderate  increase  from  1,538  members  to  8,190. 
Border-ruffianism  at  this  time  began  to  operate  so  adversely 
as  to  diminish  the  number  of  our  members  and  adherents. 
In  1859  the  previously  organized  opposition  developed  into 
an  exterminating  process.  Hence,  from  1859  to  1862  our 


EVENTS  OF  1864.  457 

membership  was  reduced  to  2,141,  and  our  traveling  preach- 
ers from  85  to  32. 

The  great  crime  charged  upon  our  Church  was  that  of 
abolitionism.  Nearly  all  our  male  members  were  adjudged 
unpardonably  guilty  because  they  voted  for  Fremont  and 
Lincoln.  Every  true  Southron,  saintly  or  otherwise,  felt 
himself  charged  by  Heaven  with  uncommon  vengeance  to 
scourge  these  vile  opinions  out  of  the  impious  Nortlierners. 
Thus  by  special  entreaties,  with  prophetic  maledictions  in 
the  background,  our  members  moving  to  Missouri,  were 
generally  seduced  into  the  Southern  Methodist  Church. 

In  October,  1860,  Bewley  was  murdered,  and  there  seemed 
a  prevailing  appetite  for  our  blood.  Certainly  not  less  than 
20,000  of  Methodist  population  were  driven  from  the  State 
after  1859,  to  say  nothing  of  the  thousands  who  were  pre- 
vented from  emigrating  to  Missouri.  All  this  took  place 
principally  before  the  war  commenced.  Thus  by  Confer- 
ence time,  1862,  our  people  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas  were 
nearly  extirpated. 

The  following  are  the  statistics  of  Arkansas: 

A     r»  M  r  ,1  c  u      '  Traveling          Local 

Members.      Preache£     poacher.. 

1848 

1849 568  5  10 

1850 848  5  9 

1851 547  8  11 

1852 1,285  8  10 

1853 1,777  36  30 

1854 2,041  26  39 

1855 2,545  21  41 

1856 1,738  20  22 

1857 1,262  19  29 

1858 1,262  20  21 

1859 1,257  20  21 

1860 1,145  16  24 

1861 5 

The  above  is  a  carefully  collated  view  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  Arkansas,  embracing  a  few  in  Kansas. 

39 


458  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

There  were  no  returns  of  membership  after  1860.  Thus 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  driven  from  Arkan- 
sas and  Texas  by  mob  violence.  Such  is  its  history  in 
these  two  States  from  1848  to  1860,  when  it  became  extinct 
with  the  martyrdom  of  Bewley.  v 

2.  The  Missouri  and  Arkansas  Conference  of  1861  ap- 
pointed five  preachers  to  Arkansas;  namely,  J.  R.  West,  J. 
W.  Murray,  T.  Reed,  H.  Hess,  and  C.  Baker.  In  1862  no 
account  was  received  from  them,  and  they  were  reappointed 
without  any  designated  fields  of  labor.  At  the  Conferences 
of  1863  and  1864  nothing  was  heard  from  these  preachers, 
and  it  was  supposed  they  had  fallen  victims  to  the  fury  of 
rebels.  Rev.  Leroy  M.  Yernon,  presiding  elder  of  Spring- 
field district,  in  a  letter  dated  August  8,  1864,  and  pub- 
lished in  the  Central  Christian  Advocate  of  August  31st, 
gives  an  account  of  two  of  them;  namely,  Rev.  Hiram 
Hess  and  Rev.  James  W.  Murray,  from  which  we  glean  the 
following  : 

"In  the  Spring  of  1861  Mr.  Hess  labored  on  the  North 
Fork  circuit,  lying  between  White  River,  the  North  Fork, 
and  Gainsville,  in  Missouri.  This  charge  had  eighty  mem- 
bers, and  was  without  missionary  appropriation.  By  the 
time  he  made  one  round  on  his  circuit,  the  State  seceded. 
On  his  second  round  he  was  met  by  three  different  mobs, 
who  threatened  him  with  death  should  he  return.  He  next 
went  to  Jasper  circuit,  which  he  formerly  traveled,  and 
where  his  family  still  lived,  the  preacher  appointed  not 
having  come.  A  band  of  guerrillas,  driven  from  Missouri, 
came  into  his  vicinity,  and  commenced  plundering  and  mur- 
dering. After  this  he  remained  quietly  at  home.  Finally, 
a  band  of  rebels,  in  January,  1863,  came  to  his  home  and 
robbed  him  of  all  his  money,  horses,  and  all  the  clothing  of 
the  family  except  what  they  then  had  on  their  persons, 
and  every  article  of  furniture  they  found.  After  this,  he 


EVENTS  OF  1864.  459 

and  some  thirty  others  lay  concealed  in  the  mountains  for 
some  time.  After  Mr.  Hess  had  been  compelled  to  leave 
his  family  on  the  circuit,  they  suffered  much  from  the  guer- 
rillas. The  family  carried  grain  upon  their  own  shoulders 
two  miles  to  the  mill,  and  often  before  they  could  carry  it 
home,  the  guerrillas  seized  it.  The  oldest  daughter,  near 
seventeen  years  of  age,  cut  and  carried  all  the  wood  they 
used,  which  hardship  brought  on  a  distressing  rheumatism. 
At  last,  after  many  other  privations  and  hardships,  he  and 
his  family,  by  aid  of  the  army,  escaped  and  reached  Spring- 
field, Missouri,  in  great  destitution,  where  Mr.  Vernon  met 
and  relieved  him. 

"  The  record  of  Rev.  James  W.  Murray  is  a  sad  and  brief 
one.  He  was  traveling  a  hundred  and  thirty  miles  below 
brother  Hess.  There  he  was  charged  with  being  an  aboli- 
tionist and  a  Northern  Methodist.  The  rebels,  thirsting 
for  his  blood,  came  to  his  house,  and  took  him  away,  say- 
ing they  were  going  to  try  him,  prove  he  was  an  abolition- 
ist, and  deal  with  him  according  to  Southern  law,  which 
meant  to  hang  him.  Having  gone  only  a  few  hundred 
yards  from  his  own  house,  they  shot  him  to  pieces  with 
demoniac  rage.  Surely  the  South-West  is  made  sacred  by 
the  blood  of  martyrs." 

3.  The  secular  affairs  of  Missouri  were  in  a  transition 
state,  but  there  was  a  marked  progress  toward  a  better  con- 
dition, notwithstanding  the  schemes  of  pro-slavery  conserva- 
tives, and  the  disabilities  of  the  truly  loyal  men  occasioned 
by  the  opposition  of  the  Gamble  regimen,  and  the  want  of 
backbone  in  General  Schofield  to  counteract  the  doings  of 
Broadhead,  Guitar,  and  others.  Messrs.  Loan,  M'Clung, 
Boyd,  and  Blow,  members  of  Congress  in  opposition  to  the 
preferment  of  General  Schofield,  declared  his  administration 
in  Missouri  a  failure — that  he  permitted  Porter,  in  the  Sum- 
mer of  1862,  to  muster,  in  Northern  Missouri,  five  or  six 


460  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

thousand  men,  to  ravage  the  country,  and  murder  and  harass 
loyal  men.  Poindexter,  in  the  central  part  of  the  State, 
north  of  the  Missouri  River,  was  allowed  to  do  the  same. 
When  General  Curtis  was  in  command  things  were  different. 
On  his  removal  a  great  change  took  place.  Under  General 
Schofield  the  power  was  intrusted  to  those  in  sympathy  with 
rebellion,  to  the  almost  entire  exclusion  of  those  of  known 
loyalty.  From  this  arose  guerrilla  depredations,  the  burning 
of  Lawrence,  and  other  atrocities. 

Six  members  of  Congress  from  Iowa  informed  the  Senate 
that  those  returned  from  the  rebel  army  were  furnished  with 
arms  by  General  Schofield  and  Governor  Gamble,  and,  or- 
ganized into  companies  in  counties  near  Iowa,  were  putting 
the  peace  of  Iowa  in  jeopardy. 

A  change  occurred,  however,  in  spite  of  the  Gamble  Gov- 
ernment and  the  easy  course  of  General  Schofield.  The 
cause  of  law  and  liberty  was  advancing.  The  Legislature 
passed  an  act  allowing  militia  to  choose  their  own  officers. 
This  was  vetoed  by  Governor  Gamble,  but  the  Legislature 
reenacted  it  over  his  veto,  and  it  became  a  law.  The  Gov- 
ernor could  no  longer  put  such  men  as  Guitar  in  office,  who 
would  glory  in  putting  loyal  men  in  prison,  and  disloyalists 
in  position. 

Fraudulent  elections  gave  the  conservative  candidates  for 
Supreme  Judges  seven  hundred  majority,  whereas,  there 
would  have  been  a  Radical  majority  of  two  thousand  had 
not  the  soldiers'  vote  been  rejected.  Notwithstanding  these 
and  various  other  subterfuges,  the  cause  of  liberty  gained. 
The  revolution  in  Missouri  went  on  triumphantly  till  law 
and  order  assumed  the  mastery  -over  pro-slavery  despotism. 

4.  The  Missouri  Conference  met  March  2,  1864,  in  Jef- 
ferson City,  in  the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
Bishop  Baker  presiding.  Here  was  a  strange  thing,  indeed. 
The  Bishop  sat  in  the  Speaker's  chair;  the  Secretaries  of  the 


EVENTS  OF  1864.  461 

Conference  occupied  the  table  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Leg- 
islature. Bishop  Ames,  a  few  years  preceding,  was  refused 
the* privilege  of  preaching  in  this  hall.  The  Legislature,  in 
this  same  hall,  refused  to  charter  a  seminary  for  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  and  also  a  university,  to  be  erected 
in  that  city.  The  members  of  our  Church  and  their  minis- 
ter had  been  warned  to  leave,  on  pain  of  severe  punishment, 
or  even  death.  But  now  the  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  meets  and  deliberates  here,  and  none 
make  them  afraid.  These,  the  Lord's  doings,  are  marvelous 
in  our  eyes. 

At  Conference  were  several  preachers  who  had  been 
mobbed  from  their  work,  but  they  were  now  ready  to  re- 
sume it;  here  Shumate,  Huffman,  Smith,  Caughlin,  Ing, 
Sellers,  Hopkins,  Gardner,  and  many  other  heroes  tried  as 
by  fire,  who  had  been  violently  driven  from  their  charges, 
and  had  wandered  for  days  in  by-paths  to  escape  the  mur- 
derous hands  of  their  pursuers. 

Going  from  St.  Louis  to  the  seat  of  Conference,  several 
reminiscences  were  called  up  to  our  mind.  We  saw  the 
charred  remains  of  the  bridge  which  the  rebel  Jackson  or- 
dered to  be  burned  the  night  of  May  10,  1861,  when  Gen- 
eral Lyon  captured  General  Frost  and  his  rebel  army,  near 
St.  Louis.  Passing  the  State  mansion,  we  were  reminded 
of  the  Governor's  flurry  when  he  heard  of  the  capture  of 
Camp  Jackson,  and  came  near  being  drowned  in  a  cistern 
in  the  confusion  of  his  fright.  At  Jefferson  City,  ascending 
the  river  bank,  we  were  shown  the  stump  of  the  pole  which 
floated  the  rebel  flag  at  the  capital. 

The  whole  number  of  members  and  probationers,  in  1863, 
was  4,387.  The  number  now,  in  1864,  was  6,697,  making  a 
handsome  increase;  besides,  there  were  over  2,000  German 
Methodists  in  the  State  not  included  in  the  above. 

Some  four  preachers  from  the  Southern  Methodists  joined 


462  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

our  Church,  and  one  was  received  into  the  traveling  minis- 
try. Between  one  and  two  thousand  members  of  the  South- 
ern Church  also  united  with  us  during  the  Conference  year 
1863-4. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  having  maintained  the 
occupancy  of  Missouri  during  the  fiery  ordeal  of  the  last 
twenty  years,  now  stood,  redeemed  and  victorious,  on  the 
field  of  her  struggles  and  sufferings.  The  land,  providen- 
tially delivered  from  mob-rule  and  violence,  and  blessed 
with  sure  guarantees  of  freedom  of  speech,  opinion,  and 
conscience,  spread  out  beautifully  before  us.  The  fields 
were  white  unto  the  harvest,  and  never  did  laborers  go 
forth  to  their  toil  with  more  hearty  good-will  and  animat- 
ing hope  than  the  preachers  who  belonged  to  this  Con- 
ference. 

5.  In  accordance  with  the  law  of  nations,  the  property 
of  rebels  is  forfeited  to  the  use  of  the  Government  against 
which  they  rebel;  and  as  the  Southern  Churches,  as  corpo- 
rations, aided  the  rebellion,  their  property  was  liable  to  con- 
fiscation. The  Union  army,  advancing  southward,  seized  the 
churches  of  the  South,  and,  in  many  cases,  opened  them  to 
loyal  people  of  the  same  religious  creed.  The  order  for  the 
occupancy  of  churches  by  loyal  congregations  was  issued 
by  Mr.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War. 

The  first  of  these  orders,  as  far  as  we  can  learn,  was  given 
to  Bishop  Ames,  November  30,  1863.  It  was  directed  to 
the  Generals  commanding  the  departments  of  the  Missouri, 
the  Tennessee,  and  the  Gulf.  The  commanders  were  ordered 
"to  place  at  the  disposal  of  Bishop  Ames  all  houses  of  wor- 
ship belonging  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  JSouth  in 
which  a  loyal  minister,  who  has  been  appointed  by  a  loyal 
bishop  of  said  Church,  does  not  now  officiate."  They  were 
also  required  to  give  the  Bishop  all  the  aid,  countenance, 
and  support  practicable  in  the  execution  of  his  important 


EVENTS  OF  1864.  463 

mission.  Other  bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
received  similar  orders. 

December  23d,  Brigadier  General  Veatch,  in  obedience  to 
this  order,  placed  Wesley  Chapel,  Memphis,  Term.,  at  the 
disposal  of  Bishop  Ames.  .-ibWtfJ 

January  14, 18G4,  a  similar  order  was  given  to  the  "Amer- 
ican Home  Baptist  Society,"  in  reference  to  churches  of  dis- 
loyal Baptists  in  the  South. 

Mr.  Stanton,  in  the  authority  given  to  Bishop  Ames,  de- 
clared, with  great  truth,  "that  Christian  ministers  should, 
by  example  and  precept,  support  and  foster  the  loyal  senti- 
ment of  the  people."  He  also  declared  that  all  the  churches 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  were  confiscated, 
for  the  time,  in  which  "a  loyal  minister,  appointed  by  a 
loyal  bishop,  did  not  officiate."  This  statement  seemed  to 
indicate  that  loyal  ministers  and  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  South  might  retain  their  churches,  pro- 
vided there  was  a  loyal  bishop  to  make  the  appointments. 
But  no  such  bishop  could  be  found  in  the  Southern  Meth- 
odist Church,  as  their  bishops  were  either  openly  avowed 
rebels,  as  Andrew,  Paine,  Pierce,  and  Early,  or  neutral,  as 
Soule  and  Kavanaugh  were  represented  to  be. 

In  the  order  relating  to  Baptist  churches,  Mr.  Stanton 
said:  "It  is  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  the  Govern- 
ment, in  its  efforts  to  restore  tranquillity  to  the  community 
and  peace  to  the  Nation,  that  Christian  ministers  should,  by 
precept  and  example,  support  and  foster  the  loyal  sentiment 
of  the  people."  The  order  stated  that  "all  houses  of" wor- 
ship belonging  to  the  Baptist  Churches  South  in  which  a 
loyal  minister  of  said  Church  does  not  now  officiate  are 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  American  Baptist  Home  Mis- 
sion Society." 

The  Missouri  Republican  jumped  into  this  question  with- 
out understanding  it;  and  as  a  sympathizer  with  and  patron 


464  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

of  disloyal  Southern  Methodists,  it  raves  at  random  against 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  seizing  the  property  of 
their  neighbors.  Similar  statements  were  made  by  most  of 
the  disloyal  sheets  in  the  North.  The  Republican,  how- 
ever, depended  much  on  the  disloyal  Methodists  of  St. 
Louis  and  Missouri,  and,  therefore,  as  on  all  other  occa- 
sionsr  he  pleaded  their  cause,  whether  right  or  wrong,  with 
great  earnestness. 

Although  power  was  vested  in  Bishop  Ames  to  occupy 
churches  belonging  to  disloyal  Southern  Methodists  in  Mis- 
souri, he  declined  exercising  his  authority.  Of  the  same 
mind  were  our  preachers  and  members.  At  the  Conference 
in  Jefferson  City,  a  committee,  of  which  Rev.  H.  Cox  was 
chairman,  presented  a  report  adverse  to  any  occupancy  of 
such  churches.  The  preamble  stated,  that  many  of  the 
Southern  Methodists  had  already  united  with  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  and  others  were  preparing  to  do 
likewise;  that  there  was  no  need  of  our  people  occupying 
such  churches.  The  following  resolution  was  unanimously 
adopted : 

"  Resolved,  by  the  Missouri  Annual  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 

"  1.  That,  as  a  Conference,  we  feel  highly  gratified  by 
this  exhibition  of  the  unbounded  confidence  of  the  Govern- 
ment and  the  people  in  the  loyalty,  patriotism,  and  religious 
power  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

"2.  That  we  fully  approve  of  the  course  pursued  by 
Bishop  Ames  in  this  State  in  not  acting  under  the  power 
conferred  on  him  by  the  War  Department  last  November. 

"3.  That  we  most  earnestly  recommend  to  our  Bishops  a 
continuance  of  the  same  course,  inasmuch  as  we  do  not  desire 
either  the  occupancy  or  the  possession  of  any  property  to 
which  we  have  not  a  legal  title,  but  that,  relying  upon  the 
blessing  of  Almighty  God,  we  will  preach  a  pure  religion, 


EVENTS  OF  1864.  465 

and  an  unconditional  loyalty  as  essential  to  the  restoration 
of  peace  and  National  unity." 

6.  The  status  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South 
during  the  Presidency  of  Mr.  Lincoln  deserves  historical 
attention  at  this  point. 

The  leading  officials  and  prominent  men  of  this  Church 
manifestly  gave  their  full  influence  to  the  measures  of  the 
rebellious  conspiracy  from  the  first. 

Nothing  is  more  to  the  point,  in  proof  of  this,  than  the 
Confederate  Almanac,  issued  at  Nashville,  November,  1861. 
A  copy  of  this  Almanac,  now  before  us,  presents  the  fol- 
lowing particulars : 

The  title-page  reads,  "  The  Confederate  States  Almanac, 
for  the  year  of  our  Lord  1862.  Edited  by  T.  0.  Sum- 
mers, D.  D.,  Nashville,  Tenn.:  Southern  Methodist  Pub- 
lishing House.  Entered,  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in 
the  year  1861.  by  J.  B.  M'Ferrin,  Agent,  in  the  office  of 
the  District  Court  for  the  Middle  District  of  Tennessee." 

The  second  page  is  headed,  "Government  of  the  Con- 
federate States,"  and  has  two  parts. 

The  first  is  occupied  by  a  doggerel  poem,  headed,  "Stars 
and  Bars,"  which  eulogizes  the  Confederacy  without  stint, 
and  denounces  in  similar  mode  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment. 

The  second  portion  of  page  second  contains  the  names 
of  the  Southern  political  officials.  Under  date  of  November 
25,  1861,  it  says,  the  rebel  legislature,  by  a  unanimous  vote 
of  twenty-three  in  the  upper  house,  and  seventy-seven  in 
the  lower  house,  at  Neosho,  took  Missouri  out  of  the  Union. 
In  the  catalogue  of  books  published  we  find  the  "  Confed- 
erate Primer,"  the  "First  Confederate  Speller,"  and  the 
"  Second  Confederate  Speller."  The  Moral  Philosophy  and 
Mental  Philosophy  of  Dr.  Rivers,  duly  Southernized,  are 
also  published. 


466  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

Thus  the  rebel  Government,  as  early  as  November  26, 
1861,  is  duly  acknowledged  among  the  official  publications 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South.  Among  the 
memorabilia  of  the  Almanac,  we  also  find  several  items  of 
secret  history.  Mention  is  made,  October  31st,  of  an  alli- 
ance between  the  Confederate  States  and  Missouri.  And 
under  November  2d  is  a  record  of  the  bogus  Missouri 
Legislature,  which  met  at  Neosho,  under  the  traitor  Claib. 
Jackson. 

The  poem  alluded  to  declares  "  The  old  Union  is  gone," 
and  was  "the  badge  of  tyranny  and  wrong."  Listen,  how- 
ever, to  its  opening  stanza,  which  is  a  type  of  the  rest: 

"  'T  is  sixty-two,  and  sixty-one, 
With  the  old  Union,  now  is  gone, 

Keeking  with  bloody  wars — 
Gone  with  that  ensign,  once  so  prized, 
The  Stars  and  Stripes,  now  so  despised, 

Struck  for  the  Stars  and  Bars."  * 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  at  the  beginning 
of  1864,  seemed  almost  in  a  state  of  transition ;  yet  con- 
fused by  previous  entanglements.  In  St.  Louis,  advertising 
pews  for  rent  or  sale  in  one  of  their  churches,  they  called 
it  "  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  omitting  the  postfix, 
South,  as  if  they  would  abjure  it.  In  St.  Joseph  and  else- 
where they  used  the  same  expedient  of  omitting  the  word 
South  from  their  name.  One  of  their  preachers,  near  Otter- 
ville,  inviting  members  to  join,  used  the  designation,  "  The 
Church  to  which  I  belong." 

The  Kentucky  Conference  of  Southern  Methodists,  this 
year,  passed  a  report  assertingvits  independence  of  the  other 
Conferences  of  the  Church  South,  disavowing  its  complicity 
with  the  resolutions  of  other  Conferences  or  the  rulings  of 
their  bishops,  and  reasserting  its  loyalty  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States.  The  Conference  also  took  the 

1  Central  Christian  Advocate,  for  1864,  p.  48. 


EVENTS  OF  1864.  467 

necessary  steps  to  organize  itself  as  a  corporate  body,  under 
the  laws  of  the  State  of  Kentucky. 

7.  A  volume  would  scarcely  contain  the  records  of  loyal 
citizens,  especially  loyal  Methodists,  murdered  by  rebel 
bushwhackers.  The  following  is  one  case  of  a  thousand  of 
like  kind.  It  appeared  in  the  Central  Christian  Advocate, 
and  was  republished  by  the  North-Western  Christian  Advo- 
cate of  October  5,  1864 : 

"On  the  10th  day  ef  July — being  Sabbath — the  rebels, 
numbering  thirty-two,  headed  by  the  notorious  guerrilla, 
Captain  Taylor,  came  into  the  neighborhood  of  brother 
Morris,  and  took  dinner  with  a  rebel  sympathizer,  Lewis 
Williams,  after  which  they  marched  down  to  brother  Mor- 
ris's house,  and,  surrounding  it,  ordered  him  to  surrender. 
This  he  refused  to  do,  saying  he  knew  how  they  treated 
prisoners.  They  then  commenced  firing  on  him  from  all 
sides,  the  balls  passing  through  the  house  and  among  the 
family,  which  consisted  of  sister  Morris  and  two  little  girls. 
Brother  Morris  now  commenced  firing  out  of  the  doors  and 
windows  at  the  fiends,  with  a  revolver,  and  succeeded  in 
killing  two  of  them,  and  seriously  wounded  a  third.  The 
house  was  now  fired  in  four  or  five  places,  while  sister 
Morris  implored  them,  as  they  intended  to  murder  her  sup- 
porter and  protector,  to  spare  her  the  only  shelter  she  had 
in  the  world;  but  no  attention  was  paid  to  her  entreaties. 
She  was  driven  away  to  the  barn  by  two  fiends  in  men's 
garbs,  who  cursed  and  abused  her,  brandished  their  pistols 
in  her  face,  and  threatened  to  shoot  her  if  she  attempted 
to  come  back.  The  little  girls  in  the  mean  time  having  bid 
farewell  to  their  father,  and  received  his  dying  blessing, 
joined  their  mother  and  moved  away  to  a  place  of  greater 
safety.  The  flames  had  now  reached  the  ceiling,  and  the 
rafters  had  commenced  falling  in  on  the  second  floor,  when 
brother  Morris  stepped  out  at  the  front  door  and  waited 


468  SOUTH-WESTERN  METHODISM. 

toward  the  gate.  Scarcely  had  he  stepped  a  dozen  paces 
when  he  fell,  pierced  by  four  bullets,  which  killed  him 
instantly.  The  house  was  entirely  consumed,  and  with  it 
all  the  family  possessed  in  the  world.  Sister  Morris  did 
not  even  save  a  bonnet  for  herself  or  little  daughters." 

8.  CONCLUSION.  The  world  has  hardly  witnessed  two 
decades  of  more  heroic  suffering  and  labor  on  the  part 
of  any  Christian  body  than  those  through  which  we  have 
thus  imperfectly  followed  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
"  The  half  has  not  been  told." 

But  how  like  burnished  gold  from  the  crucible  does 
our  beloved  Church  shine  as  she  stands  victorious  and 
manifestly  vindicated  at  the  close  of  1864!  The  year  was 
one  of  steady  material  and  spiritual  prosperity  and  growth 
in  popular  favor.  Old  reproaches  were  wiped  away,  and 
the  Church,  strong  in  her  conscious  fidelity,  and  rectitude, 
and  rejoicing  in  abundant  omens  of  heavenly  mercy  and 
blessing,  "came  up  out  of  the  wilderness  leaning  upon  the 
arm  of  her  beloved,  fair  as  the  moon,  bright  as  the  sun, 
and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners." 

From  the  close  of  1864  to  this  present — February,  1868 — 
Providence  has  made  us  glad  in  the  South-West  with  un- 
abated progress.  The  circulation  of  our  books  and  period- 
ical literature  has  been  vastly  increased.  The  work  of  ed- 
ucation has  been  heartily  espoused  and  liberal  incipient 
agencies  have  been  devised  for  giving  a  just  permanence 
and  success  to  this  great  cause.  Churches  are  building  in 
all  quarters,  and  new  societies  and  congregations  are  form- 
ing on  every  hand.  "  In  the  wilderness  waters  are  breaking 
out,  and  streams  in  the  desert.  And  the  parched  ground 
is  becoming  a  pool,  and  the  thirsty  land  springs  of  water." 

The  Missouri  and  Arkansas  Conference  now  embraces,  in 
round  numbers,  about  20,000  members,  and  200  ministerial 
laborers,  members  of  Conference  and  "supplies"  taken 


EVENTS  OF  1864.  469 

together.  Nor  has  the  Church  any  where  a  more  loyal 
and  devoted  membership  or  a  more  self-sacrificing,  conse- 
crated, and  laborious  ministry. 

And  while  we  learn  with  profound  satisfaction  that  the 
whole  Church  has  made  a  Centenary  contribution  of  EIGHT 
MILLION  DOLLARS,  we  are  equally  pleased  and  surprised  to 
know  that  this  Conference,  so  lately  a  mere  handful  of 
scarred  veterans  with  a  territory  spoiled  and  pillaged  by 
contending  armies,  should  have  raised  8157,243  of  that 
amount. 

To  the  South-West  the  future  is  full  of  hope  and  promise, 
and  could  this  pen  resume  its  work  a  score  of  years  hence 
its  task  would  doubtless  be  far  happier  than  that  which  is 
here  finished. 


THE   END. 


